


Your Everything Better Plan

by dancingsweetheart129



Series: Rockstar AU [3]
Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: F/M, Messed up family life, Origin Stories, Past Fic, Rockstar AU, characters and couples added as we go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-01-29 21:52:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 25,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12639915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancingsweetheart129/pseuds/dancingsweetheart129
Summary: It doesn't matter how they got there.Except it really does matter. It's made them who they are.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This piece is like a pre-prequal to my story It's Easy To Give Into Your Heart. Each story is going to focus on a different boy in the story, and I've actually had half of this chapter written for a long time. I feel like Clark really wasn't ready to be a father with Conner, and the resentment there causes a lot of tension between the two of them throughout Conner's life, which you can see a lot in the main story. Also, Mommy Lois is my favorite. Moms are really amazing and she is amazing.

Clark held his throbbing head in his hands as he stared down at his textbook, unable to process a single word with the noise coming from the other room. He finally growled and pushed himself up from the desk in the corner of their bedroom, heading out to the living room.

"Lois, I can't concentrate with him crying like that." He said, rubbing his temples.

"Well what would you like me to do, Clark? He's teething, he's in pain." Lois asked. She had been walking and bouncing the boy for nearly a half an hour, all of which Clark had spent in their bedroom.

"Just put him in his crib, he'll fall asleep eventually." Clark said, watching his wife pace. She looked exhausted, but he was exhausted too and he still had homework to finish.

"No he won’t, he's hurting. He wants his gums to feel better." Lois sighed, heading for the freezer. She hoped that the toy she had put in there was cold enough. She tried to put it in Conners mouth, but he twisted his head away, wouldn't let it near his gums. "Come on, Honey, please? It'll make you feel better."

"Just give him some Tylenol or something." Clark squeezed his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I gave him some, Clark, it doesn't help!" Lois snapped at her husband, and Conner wailed louder. "I'm sorry, baby, mommy didn't mean to yell."

"Well I need to study so could you take him for a drive, or something?" Clark asked.

"Why don't you take him for a drive, Clark?" Lois asked, trying to keep her temper in check. "Why don't you do something to help our child instead of thinking about yourself all the time."

"Think about myself? I'm going to school and work to be able to support you both, I'm doing this for you."

"Oh, save it, Clark. You just don't want to take care of our son. You won't even hold him for ten minutes so I can eat something." Lois growled, moving the baby up against her shoulder. "God forbid you try to calm him down."

"Hey, I take care of him-"

"Oh, please. When's the last time you got up to feed him, or change him, or dress him? Do you even know what size he wears right now? Do you know his bedtime routine?"

"What routine?" Clark scoffed.

"God you're such a stubborn jackass." Lois spat, patting the baby on the back gently.

"I can't fucking think properly here. I'm going to the library." Clark growled, angrily grabbing his jacket off of the chair and heading for the front door.

"So you're just going to leave me here?" Lois asked.

"Don't wait up." Clark said as he slammed the door behind him.

Lois glared at the door for a minute before sitting down on the couch, laying Conner down in her lap.

"I'm sorry baby, Daddy is just in a bad mood." She sniffed. "Please sleep for me, Honey. Please?" She had given up, officially. Nothing she had done was working and she thought maybe she should just take him to the hospital at this point.

She reached for the phone, but instead of calling an ambulance like she wanted to, she hit the first speed dial on the phone.

Ma picked up right away.

_"Hello?"_

"I don’t know what to do, Martha, he won't stop crying." Lois cried into the phone. Her mother-in-law was such a sweet woman, and she just wanted to crawl into her lap and cry. "He's teething, but nothing is helping him. What do I do?"

_"Well, honey, first you have to calm down. Babies know when their mothers are upset. Have Clark take him for a minute so you can calm down."_

"Clark left. He went to the library." Lois sniffled.

_“He left?”_

“He said he couldn’t focus enough with Conner screaming here so he left.” Lois said, trying to take a deep breath and calm down. They weren’t cut out for this yet, at least not as a team. Conner was a big surprise to them, they thought they would both get through college first. Even as it was, Lois had to drop out after a year and a half to take care of him.

_“I swear that boy needs a good smack sometimes.”_

“I can’t do this, Martha, I can’t even get my own baby to stop crying. I can’t alleviate his pain.” She sniffed, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.

_“Don’t you say that, Lois. You can do this. Every woman can do this. Now you pull yourself together.”_

“Okay.” Lois nodded, taking a few deep breaths.

_“Now, what have you done so far?”_

“I gave him some Tylenol about an hour ago. He just seems to keep hurting, I can’t get him to calm down at all. He won’t take teething toys.”

_“Clark never took teething toys either when he was a baby. When he started teething, I used to give him a cold wash cloth to chew on. Just get it wet and put it in the freezer for a few minutes. And then when he calms down and the wash cloth warms up, put a drop of vanilla on his gums.”_

“Really?”

_“Worked every time for Clark.”_

“Okay, I’ll try that. Thank you, Martha.” Lois sighed, springing into action with her newfound mommy-confidence.

_“You’re doing just fine, Dear. That baby is in good hands with you. And you tell that son of mine that he better straighten up or I’ll fly over there and then he’ll be in big trouble.”_

“Okay, Martha. Thank you again.” Lois said softly, feeling a newfound love for her mother-in-law. “We’ll call tomorrow.”

_“I look forward to it, Dear.”_

Lois hung up the phone and left it on the kitchen counter, out of its holder. She pulled a washcloth out of the drawer and ran it under the sink before wringing it out and sticking it in the freezer.

“It’s okay, Honey.” Lois said, rocking Conner in the middle of the kitchen. “This is going to make you feel better.”

She paced around the apartment for what felt like an hour, watching the clock to see only minutes tick by until she had finally had enough. She ran to the kitchen and yanked the washcloth out of the freezer, handing it to Conner, who immediately put everything in his hands in his mouth.

And he sniffled.

And he stopped crying.

“Yes.” Lois hissed, using her free arm to give herself a little fist pump. She quickly put Conner down on his play mat on the floor in the living room, stood up to do a little dance to herself. She hurried to grab some clean clothes out of the laundry basket sitting on the love seat, clothes she had yet to fold, and changed out of her drool and tear covered shirt.

Conner was finally calm, she couldn’t believe it. She got a new onsie out of the basket as well to change him into since he was getting all wet.

She could do this. She was a mom, she could do anything.

* * *

 

Conner was asleep. He was actually asleep, in his crib, snoring his cute little baby snore.

Lois was overjoyed.

She had the baby monitor in her immediate reach at all times, but she quickly took a shower, heated up a freezer meal, and folded the laundry while it was in the microwave.

She thought about calling Ma, but it was already getting late. And she didn’t think she could tell of her success without sobbing at this point.

Once happily full, clothes put away, and finally clean of baby drool officially, she crawled into bed.

Even though her victories had her buzzing and feeling like she deserved some sleep, she couldn’t do it.

Clark still wasn’t home.

It wasn’t until after 1 in the morning that she heard the apartment door open.

She set down the book she had been reading just as he poked his head into their bedroom.

“Hi.” He said quietly.

“Hi.” She said back.

“You got him to sleep.” He said as he leaned in the doorway.

“Yeah, I called your mom and she gave me some ideas.” Lois nodded, tucking some of her hair back out of her eyes.

“You called my mom?”

“Yes I did.”

“Did you tell her?”

“Yes I did.” Lois said with another nod.

“I’m sorry I walked out like I did.” Clark mumbled. “I was out of line. It’s just been kind of tense around here and-“

“Clark?” Lois asked, looking up at her husband. He returned her gaze, his big blue eyes peering into her. She pulled the blankets down on his side of the bed.

“Really?” He asked. “Are you sure?”

They hadn’t had sex since Conner was born.

“I’m sure.” She nodded. “I’ve missed you too, Clark.”

Clark smiled, shed his jacket and belt, and climbed up onto the bed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in this, Tim is 5 and Dick is 10. As I mentioned in one of the other stories, Tim's mom dies when he's six, so this is kind of the start of that, when she just starts getting sick. Also, that is a real song, if you look it up, it was in memory of the children killed in the Oklahoma bombing in 1995. If in the main story Tim is 22, he would have been born in 1995, so that was the same year. So if you remember right, Dick was adopted (in this AU) at 10, Jason I want to say at 10 as well, and Tim at 8. Their age gaps are (if The other 2 were in this chapter) Dick is 10, Jason is 8, Tim is 5, and Damian would have been born this year.

“Tim, honey, be careful.” Janet called as her little boy clambered up onto her bed. It was taller than he was, a very tiny child. Janet always prided herself on being petite, even after giving birth, though she feared her son was taking after her instead of his father.

“Momma, when are we leaving?” Tim asked as he settled himself into her side. She was feeling under the weather again, and had wanted to stay in bed for the day, but she had promised Tim that they would go to the circus as a family.

It wasn’t something they got to do often, but she knew that family time was important to Tim. He needed to spend time with his father too. She feared he spent too much time without him and had no role-model in his father.

“Once Daddy gets home, Tim.” Janet said, brushing the boy’s hair out of his eyes as he cuddled up to her. “He just had to go to work for a little bit.”

“Can you and me go to the circus?” Tim asked, looking up at her with his big blue eyes that simply melted her heart.

“You and I, Tim.” She said with a small nod.

“Can you and I go to the circus?” He corrected himself.

“Don’t you want Daddy to come?” She asked, grabbing a tissue off of the bedside table. She was catching colds so easily since Tim started school. She assumed that he was bringing back germs from the other children and she was so susceptible to illness.

“Daddy works late Momma.” Tim mumbled, pulling the blanket up around his little body.

“Daddy promised he wouldn’t work late today.” Janet said softly, wrapping her arm around her son. “How about we play a game together while we wait?”

“I don’t want to play a game, Momma.” Tim shook his head and Janet sighed. She knew what he wanted. He wanted to see the circus.

She was worried that he wouldn’t like it as much as he was building it up. He always had an aversion to large animals and clowns, and she thought for sure they would end up leaving early with a sniffling child.

“Can we sing a song, then?” She asked, hoping he would perhaps take a small nap while they waited.

“Sure, Momma.” Tim shrugged, and Janet helped him to sit up. She hoped he would take after her in the arts, but his singing was unpracticed. She loved to sing to him when she could, and used all the songs in her arsenal, but he was still very timid with his singing.

“Do you remember the song I taught you last week?” She asked. Janet also played the piano, and wanted Tim to take lessons, but he had little interest in actually playing. He seemed so content to watch his mother play the notes, and he would learn the song with her.

“It’s Latin, Momma.” Tim said with a nod. “It’s for the children.”

“That’s right, Honey.” Janet nodded and took a deep breath. She had loved the song because the year that Tim was born was the same year that the children had died in a bombing and the song was written in their memory. She always felt a strong connection with the song because while she was celebrating her little life, so many were mourning the loss of theirs. “Pié Jesu, Pié Jesu,” she began.

“Pié Jesu, Domine,” Tim sang, very quietly.

“That’s right, Honey. Can you sing the rest to me?” Janet asked, but Tim shook his head. She smiled and continued to sing.

* * *

 

“Janet?” The woman looked up from where she was sitting in the shower. Her goal had been accomplished, and Tim had fallen asleep in their bed, but she still felt weak. She needed to shower though. “Are you alright?”

“I’m okay, Jack, just feeling a little under the weather.” Janet said, slowly getting to her feet to turn off the shower. “Is Tim still asleep?”

“Yes, he is.” Jack said as Janet opened the shower curtain to see her husband, still dressed for the office, holding a bouquet of flowers.

“Jack?”

“I knew you weren’t feeling well this morning so I stopped by the florist.” He said, setting the flowers down on the counter and picking up the towel sitting there, wrapping it around his wife.

“How thoughtful of you, Jack.” She said as she grasped onto the towel around her body. “I appreciate it.”

“Of course, my darling.” Jack said, giving her cheek a kiss and turning back towards the bedroom. “Would you like me to wake Tim up?”

“Could you? He needs to get dressed.” Janet said, reaching for her hair dryer.

“Of course, Dear.” Jack nodded and headed back out to their bedroom.

She really wasn’t feeling well, and in her heart she knew she needed to see a doctor. She was getting sick much more frequently, and it was affecting her relationship with Tim. She couldn’t play with him as often, and if she was home, it was because she was simply too sick to go into the office. If her voice was hoarse, she couldn’t sing with him, and he still liked to be picked up which she had difficulty doing sometimes.

She needed to figure out what was wrong with her for her baby.

* * *

 

“Go say hi, Tim.” Janet said, crouching down beside her son, pushing him gently towards the family of acrobats that they would see at the circus that night.

“Hello.” The son knelt down on one knee to be eye-level with her son, offering him a big, warm smile.

“Hi.” Tim mumbled, ever the timid boy.

“What’s your name?” The boy asked. Tim muttered back his name with a bashful smile. “Well it’s nice to meet you, Tim. My name is Richard. Are you excited to see the show?”

Tim nodded.

“Would you like a photo?” Richard asked, and Tim nodded again. “Should we bring in your mom and dad?”

“Momma,” Tim whispered, turning back to look at her and wave her over.

“Why don’t you hold onto Tim, little Robin?” Richard’s mother asked, ushering Janet and Jack over to stand between the two adult. Richard nodded and lifted Tim up to sit on his knee.

“Say cheese, Tim.” Richard said, an easy smile crossing his face as he held onto the shy little boy. Once the photographer took the picture, Tim turned his little face towards the boy holding him up. “I’ll look for you in the crowd, okay? You’ll love the show.” Richard said, setting Tim back on the ground.

Tim surged forward for a hug.

“Oh, Tim, Honey,” Janet said with a small laugh, reaching forward to try and pull him back.

“That’s alright, Dick loves hugs.” His mother said, waving Janet off.

“Go with your parents and find your seat, okay?” Richard said, letting Tim go. He waved at the Drakes as he followed his parents back into the tent.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to avoid the graphicness of Dick's parent's death. We all know what happened, how it happened, it's no different.

“Welcome.” Bruce said, opening the door for the boy. It had been a bit of a struggle getting him into his custody, but Richard wanted to live with him, didn’t want to travel in the circus without his parents. He had been in a foster home for only a few days.

“This is a big house.” Richard said, eyes wide as they looked up at the high ceilings. “You really live here?”

“Yes, and now so do you.” Bruce nodded, kneeling down to help him out of his jacket. It was a pretty flimsy jacket, he would have to get the boy a new one. “I want you to feel comfortable here, this is your home now too, Richard.”

“People call me Dick.” The boy said, looking up at Bruce with big blue eyes. “My mother called me her Robin.”

Bruce smiled.

“Come along.” He said, putting a hand on Dick’s shoulder. “I’ll show you to your room, I had Alfred get you more clothes.”

“Who is Alfred?” Dick asked, climbing the stairs two at a time.

“Alfred is my butler.” Bruce explained. “We’ll have to fit you for a suit so you can wear it to the funeral.”

“Funeral?” Dick asked, blinking up at the man.

“Yes, I will provide your parents with a nice funeral and see to it that they have a proper burial.” Bruce nodded, turning Dick down a hallway. The silently walked the rest of the way to Dick’s room, opening the door for him.

“This is your room. Feel free to decorate however you wish.” Bruce said, watching the boy timidly step in and look around. “My room is right next door, if you need anything.”

“Thank you, Mr. Wayne.” Dick said, setting his bag down on the bed. He dug through it and pulled out a pastel stuffed elephant and plopped it on the bed.

“You can call me Bruce.” Bruce said, leaning in the door way. “Who is that?”

“Oh!” Dick said, picking up the elephant again and holding it out to Bruce. “This is Ellie! She was my favorite elephant.” He pulled the animal back again, cuddling it to his chest. “I’m not going to get to see her anymore now that I don’t live with the circus.”

Bruce took a deep breath, watching Dick hug the worn out stuffed animal, then set it back up on the bed, set her up perfectly against the pillows. He knew what he had to do.

* * *

 

The funeral was full of other performers, and Bruce made sure Dick got to see them, hug them, be held by Mr. Haly while he cried over his parents.

Dick didn’t know him very well yet, and Bruce had vowed to let him do whatever he needed.

After the funeral, Bruce carried the boy out to the car where Alfred was waiting, buckled him into his seat.

“Shall we go show Master Dick his surprise?” Alfred asked from the front of the car.

“Surprise?” Dick asked, wiping at his eyes and looking up at Bruce hovering over him. “There’s a surprise? What is it?”

“Well you’ll just have to wait and see.” Bruce said, getting into the passenger seat.

Dick had been excited at first, but once they were out of the parking lot, he was falling asleep. Bruce opted for his parents to simply be buried without spectators in his private cemetery. This surprise got them away from the house long enough for that. It would be easier on the boy, he didn’t need to see his parents getting buried.

It had been a hard enough day for him, evidently.

Dick didn’t wake up when they arrived, and he only stirred a bit when Bruce lifted him out of the car, flopping his head against his shoulder and winding his arms around his neck.

The tent itself was open again, the crime scene tape long gone, so Bruce marched in, following Haly’s directions through the tent that he had memorized.

Once he got to the proper room, Dick started to stir.

Ellie was in a pen with tall walls, enough space for her to move around though Bruce knew it couldn’t be humane.

“Someone wants to say hi to you, Chum.” Bruce said, gently rubbing Dick’s back through his suit jacket. Dick barely opened his eyes, looking up at Bruce through his lashes until he realized where they were.

He sat up straight and looked around, seeing Ellie in her cage, trunk poking out through the bars to wrap around Dick’s shoulders.

“Ellie!” Dick said, wrapping his arms around her trunk and snuggling it. Bruce chuckled, seeing the boy light up like he did.

“Ellie, this is Bruce.” He said, perking up significantly when he spoke to her, as if she could understand every word he said. The elephant reached her trunk out to pat at Bruce’s head and hair. “He’s nice.”

The trunk slipped around his shoulders in a hug.

“She likes you, Bruce.” Dick said, giving Bruce the biggest smile he’d seen on the boy. “She’s my best friend.”

“She’s a very sweet creature.” Bruce said, reaching out to give her a pet. Dick nodded, launching into a story about her, wiggling his way down to the floor to animate some parts of his story. Bruce leaned against the cage to watch him, and Ellie reached down to pat him again with her trunk.

“I’ll take care of him, Ellie.” Bruce said, patting her trunk back, watching Dick mimic walking on her back.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Few things:  
> 1) Jason is 8, this happens around the same time that the last 2 chapters have happened.   
> 2) Oliver is probably buying up places in bad neighborhoods to try and improve the area, make the city safer for his son. This is before Dinah came in the picture, I believe, which is why Roy is with his dad. He and Jason play on the playground every weekend after this.  
> 3) Yes, Jason is reading A Series of Unfortunate Events. This is a childhood favorite of my boyfriend's, and I highly recommend the netflix series. And yes, yes this is a metaphor for Jason's life, a similar series of unfortunate events.  
> 4) Yes, baby Duke Thomas. I have been trying to figure out how to put him in this series, and it is entirely possible that he becomes a child that Jason continues to mentor through his teen years.  
> 5) The Wide Window came out in 2000, so this would be that year some time.

Jason climbed up the front of the cabinets, carefully, to get up to the cereal cupboard. Mom was at work, and he had to take care of himself.

Once he got the cereal and a bowl, he climbed back down, avoiding the broken cabinet door that he slipped on a few days prior.

The gash on his knee was still tender from it.

He finished pouring the bowl of cereal, left the box on the counter. He could put it away later, had to remember to do so before mom got home.

He grabbed the milk from the fridge and finished off his breakfast. He hoped his mom went grocery shopping after work, all he’d had to eat the last few days was cereal and he wanted something different.

Jason finally learned how to make eggs. He wanted to make them more.

He moved to the couch to eat, adjusted the antennas on the television so he could see the picture on the screen a little clearer. He at least wanted to see the weather so he knew if he should wear his hoodie or not.

The weather girl said it would be chilly, so he decided on at least _bringing_ his hoodie.

Jason quickly finished his breakfast and washed his bowl quickly and putting it beside the box of cereal. He would put them away before his mom got home.

He ran to his room and changed out of his pajamas, slipping on his pair of jeans. He had done his best to patch up the knee with a cut out square from his too-small jeans, and he thought they looked okay, even if the denim was a slightly different color. He didn’t want to have to give up his savings to his mom to buy a pair of new jeans from the Goodwill on the corner.

Once he was dressed in those and his Gotham Knight’s t-shirt, hoodie in hand and money stuffed in his pocket, he was running for the door.

It was raining when he got outside, too bad the umbrella broke last week.

Jason slipped into his hoodie and pulled the hood up, trying to block out some of the rain. He had been saving up for weeks, collecting stray returnables on the street, checking pockets at the Laundromat, saving his milk money instead of getting lunch at school. He finally had enough money to get a new book.

He ran through the rain a few blocks over to the bargain book store. He hoped the rain would let up, he didn’t want his book to get damaged on the way home.

There was a new book on sale, and he wanted it. He had gotten one of the previous ones from someone at school, and he was looking forward to reading the next one. He couldn’t go to the library since the last time he brought back a book damaged they revoked his card.

Jason had tried to keep it safe, he really did, but his mom had been clumsy and it wasn’t his fault the beer spilled.

Luckily he had been able to get the first two books, one from someone at school (which he hoped the person forgot about) and the second he had snagged the last time he went to the store. He didn’t think anyone saw, and he really just wanted to read it. No one would notice it was gone.

When he got to the store, he hurried inside, pushing his wet hood back. He hurried to the table he had seen the new book at, but it wasn’t there anymore. He knit his brows and went to where he had found the second book on the shelf.

There it was.

Jason smiled and snatched it up. The cover was a little damaged, but that was okay. That’s why the store was ‘Bargain Books’.

He ran his fingers over the words on the cover, ‘The Wide Window’, smiling to himself. He would make this one last, he had to. It took way too long to save up the five dollars for the book.

Except when he looked on the back, it wasn’t five dollars anymore. It was seven.

Jason’s smile fell. He felt in his pocket for the change he had, sat down on the floor to count it again.

Five dollars and forty cents.

Jason swallowed the lump in his throat. He had to try. A lot of times if he looked sad enough, he could get what he wanted.

He shoved the change back in his pocket and scooped up the book, heading for the front counter.

“Hello.” The shopkeeper greeted him. This wasn’t the normal young woman, it was an older man with a mustache. Jason swallowed again. It had to work.

The man rang up the book and told Jason the total. He counted out everything from his pocket, giving the man a sad look when he came up just a few dollars short.

“I’m sorry, Son, you don’t have enough.” The man said, and Jason took a deep breath, nodding.

“I’ll go put it back.” Jason sighed, feeling that lump in his throat again. Maybe he could slip it under his coat. How many times could he steal a book without being caught?

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll take care of it.” The man said, giving him a stern look as he pushed the money back towards him. Jason sniffed, slowly putting the change away.

“I’ll take it.”

Jason looked up, saw a man in a suit with blond hair and a beard handing a twenty dollar bill to the man. Jason stared up at him with wide, watery blue eyes. The suited man smiled down at him.

It was then that Jason noticed a boy beside him, with red hair and freckles and a nice polo shirt.

“I believe you wanted this?” The man asked, crouching down to hand the book to Jason. The boy silently took it, swallowing again.

“Thank you.” He mumbled.

“And here, for your troubles.” The man handed Jason the change from the twenty, closing his fist around it. “Excuse me, sir? Are you the owner of this shop?”

Jason looked down at the money in his hand. With that and the money he still had, it was enough for _two more books_. He would keep it and save it. He’d put it in his special hiding place where his mom wouldn’t find it.

“I’m Roy.”

Jason looked up and saw the boy standing there still, smiling at him.

“’m Jason.” Jason mumbled.

“My daddy and I are looking for realestate.” The boy said, rocking back and forth on his nice, clean shoes. “He wants to make the bad parts of the city good again.”

“This part isn’t bad.” Jason knit his brows, looking back down at the money. “It’s good.”

“Daddy says lots of criminals live here.” Roy nodded. “Do you live here?”

Jason nodded slowly. Was his mom a criminal?

“We’re coming back tomorrow to look at the park. Do you want to play with me?” Roy asked, freckled face breaking out into a smile.

“Sure.” Jason nodded. His building didn’t have a ton of children his own age, mostly babies and teenagers. “I’ll go after breakfast.”

“Okay.” Roy nodded, taking his dad’s hand when the man approached them again. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Jason.”

Jason nodded, watching the two of them walk out and get into a really nice car.

“You should be on your way now.” The shop keeper said, grabbing Jason’s attention. He was standing at the register, staring at a check. Jason nodded again, running out into the now light rain.

He stayed under the awning for a moment, looking down at the book again, _his book._

He tucked it inside his hoodie and ran for home.

* * *

 

As much as Jason wanted to sit down and read his new book, he knew he had a few things to do. He ran to his room and shoved his money under his mattress and tucked the book under his pillow. He changed out of his wet shirt and hoodie, though he had only one pair of jeans to wear.

Miss Thomas asked him to baby sit today, until her boyfriend got home from his job, and she would have to leave for work soon, she would be stopping by with her son soon.

Jason hurried to clean up the apartment, putting away the cereal and the bowl as carefully as possible, and adjusting the television to cartoons, something more cheerful than the news. They could only get one cartoon channel, but it was okay. Duke was far too young to comprehend them.

“Jason?” Someone knocked on the door. “It’s Miss Thomas.”

Jason rushed to the door, unlocking the chain and the deadbolt before pulling the door open.

“Hello Miss Thomas.” Jason greeted her, reaching out to take the infant from her. He was only one, much too young to be in such a life.

“Duke’s father will be here in just an hour or two. Thank you so much again.” Miss Thomas said, setting the diaper bag on the floor beside the door. “I’m so sorry, I can’t pay you much. Here is what I owe you for last time.”

She pulled two dollars out of her pocket and passed it to Jason, who stuck it in his pants pocket. He took whatever he could get, though he would do it for free as a favor. But a dollar an hour every few weeks or so was at least something.

“Thank you, Miss Thomas.” Jason said, shutting the door as she left, locking all of the locks again like his mother taught him to do.

Duke squirmed in his arms, so Jason set him down. He had been careful to pick up all of the potentially dangerous objects, and he had blocked the kitchen off with the kitchen chairs.

“Here, Duke.” Jason said, picking up one of his old toys and handing it to the boy. He only had a few toys, but the stuffed bear was always something Duke liked to play with. Duke took it and put one of the ears in his mouth.

“It’s almost time for your lunch.” Jason said, heading for the bag still on the floor by the door. He knew the boy’s eating schedule, just one of the many children he would sometimes care for. The teenagers in the building were never very fit to care for small children, and though Jason was young, he was the most trusted boy in their building. Parents trusted him with their small children for short periods of time, though Miss Thomas was one of the only ones who could afford to pay him anything.

He took out a jar of food from the bag, sweet potatoes, something that Duke didn’t like very much, but Jason could at least get him to eat it.

Jason grabbed the baby spoon that Miss Thomas always made sure to pack and walked back over to the baby sitting on the floor in front of the television.

“Time to eat, Duke.” He said, sitting cross-legged on the floor. He carefully moved the bear away from the baby’s mouth, careful to not upset him. If he got upset, there was no hope of feeding him. “I know you don’t like these, but look.” Jason took a small bite. Sweet potatoes weren’t his favorite either, but it usually did the trick to get Duke to eat them.

He took another small spoonful and held it to Duke’s mouth, which he hesitantly ate. Hopefully next time Miss Thomas would pack the peas or carrots that Duke loved.

After his fairly uneventful feeding, Duke usually took a nap. Jason wiped his mouth and rested him on the couch, sitting beside him. The television would put him to sleep, it usually did. Jason wrapped the both of them in a blanket, leaned against the arm of the couch. He wished he had grabbed his book, but it was alright. He would only be there for an hour or so.

* * *

 

Duke’s father had picked him up after his nap, though Jason felt bad because the child had been very cranky after his nap and had not wanted to leave.

But this gave Jason the chance to start preparing dinner for him and his mother. She would be home around five, that gave him a few hours to get something prepared. He couldn’t cook a lot yet, but one of the older women in his building had given him a cook book, and he was excited to try his hand at chicken parmesan.

They didn’t have breadcrumbs, but Jason could improvise, so he baked some slices of bread in the oven and waited until they were well toasted, then crumbled them all by hand.

Jason really did enjoy cooking for his mother. When she cooked it was usually not well done, if cooked at all. They often had peanut butter sandwiches for dinner until he started learning how to cook.

“It smells wonderful in here, Jason.”

Jason leaned around the doorway in the kitchen to see his mother taking off her jacket and kicking off her shoes.

“I’m cooking dinner, Momma.” He said. “Mrs. Josephine gave me a cook book.”

“Well that was nice of her.” Catherine said, stepping into the kitchen and ruffling Jason’s hair. “You’re so good at taking care of me, dear.” She knelt down and gave Jason a hug, and her shirt smelled like beer.

“Momma-“

“If it’s pasta you’re making,” She said, getting up and eyeing the noodles on the stove, “Wine would go great with it. I know I have a bottle here somewhere.”

Jason sighed.

* * *

 

Dinner had gone over fine, but after dinner Catherine had passed out on the couch, leaving Jason to clean up the dishes and put away the leftovers. He pulled a blanket over his mother and headed for his room.

Once he was changed into his pajamas, Jason turned on his bedside lamp and pulled his book out from under his pillow. He had begun reading the series of unfortunate events, thanking the world that he still had his mother. If nothing else, he wasn’t an orphan like the Baudelaires. And no crazy man was trying to take his fortune, the little of it that he had.

After the events of the Reptile of Room, he couldn’t wait to read what happened while the three children lived with Aunt Josephine.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly think this is why Conner and Jon weren't close. I've worked for a parenting magazine for over a year now, and talking to different experts has taught me a lot. Developmentally, when siblings are five or more years apart, they are developmentally like only children because they have different early childhood experiences. So I imagine at 6, Conner had a big problem with a new baby. Not that Jon is super new here, he's teething, so at least a few months old, but Conner's teething caused such a ruckus that Jon's was bound to too. Also, when you're as attached to your mom as Kon is, he'd hate that baby for taking away his mom. This is also how they meet and become friends with Diana.

“Conner, Honey, don’t touch that.” Lois said, leaning down to scoop up the teething toy that Kon had grabbed. She rushed off to his bedroom – _their bedroom-_ with the toy. It was really cold when Conner picked it up.

That stupid baby was crying again, and Conner crossed his arms, pout forming on his chubby face. He could cry too. Maybe then his mom would pay attention to him.

“Mommy!” Conner shouted, pinching up his face, bringing his fists up in front of his eyes, giving a few fake sniffles.

“What, Honey? What’s wrong?” Lois was in front of him in an instant, trying to pull his hands away from his face. “What is it, Honey?”

“Mommy,” Conner whined, launching himself forward to curl himself around her torso, trying to get a hug in return.

“Honey, I know, I want to stay out here with you, but Jon needs me right now. When he’s taking a nap, you and I can play together, okay?” Lois asked, peeling her son off of her and standing up, heading for the kitchen.

“Mommy!” Conner called, scrambling to his feet to follow her.

“Not right now, Honey.” Lois said, bypassing him with a wet wash cloth. Conner fell back on his butt, defeated. Stupid baby.

“Hey, champ.” Clark said as he walked into the kitchen, a rag over his shoulder, sleeves rolled up. He had been launched right into Dad work as soon as he got home from work work. It was his day to work at the office, and tomorrow he would work from home. “What’s going on? Mommy said you’re upset.”

“I want Mommy.” Conner said, crossing his arms defiantly.

“Well, Mommy is taking care of Jon right now. But I’ll play with you, buddy.” Clark said, scooping up his oldest. “Why don’t we go build a puzzle? Or we can play with your legos.”

“No!” Conner shouted. He wanted his mom. Was that too hard for people to understand?

“Conner, that’s enough.” Clark said, tugging Conner around to keep his from squirming. “No need to yell.”

“But I want Mommy.” Conner whined.

“Mommy is busy right now, Conner.” Clark said, and Conner reached out and pushed at his father’s chest, trying to get down. “Hey, Hey! We don’t hit. You know better. I think you need a time out.”

“No!” Conner wailed, clinging to Clark now. He didn’t want to get put in the chair, he just wanted his mom.

“You know the rules, Conner. You sit here and I’ll be back in six minutes.” Clark said as he sat Conner down in a chair placed in the corner of the kitchen.

The little boy had no choice but to sit there. If he got up, he’d just have to spend more time there. He sniffled a few times and wiped his face on his sleeve. Ever since that stupid baby came around, Lois couldn’t do anything with him. Even before the baby, he made her so big that she couldn’t pick him up. He couldn’t sit in her lap.

Stupid baby.

He wanted his mommy back.

His dad kept coming in and out of the kitchen, ignoring Conner’s crying for the time being. He felt like such a baby. He tripped on the playground at recess the day prior and scrapped his knee really bad, and when he cried, one of the other kids told him only _babies_ cried.

Maybe if he was a baby, Mommy would pay attention to him again.

But when the six minutes was up, Conner was still crying and his Daddy was the one who came to get him.

“Hey, buddy?” Clark asked, kneeling down in front of him. Conner crossed his arms, his face red and angry still. “Do you understand why I put you here?”

Kon nodded, sniffling again.

“Can you apologize?”

“I’m sorry, Daddy.” Conner sobbed, and Clark welcomed him in for a hug.

“I love you, Kon.”

“I love you too, Daddy.” Conner sobbed again, clinging to his father for dear life.

“Don’t cry, buddy, it’s okay.” Clark sighed, hefting the boy up and pacing the kitchen with him. “I’m not mad at you.”

“I want Mommy.” Conner cried into his father’s shoulder.

“Okay, why don’t we go see if Mommy is done with Jon, okay?” Clark asked, carrying the boy towards their shared bedroom. “Lois?”

Conner turned his head so he could see the rest of the room. Lois was sitting in the rocking chair, rocking the baby in her arms, who was asleep. She simply put a finger to her lips. Conner reached out for her, trying to stifle his sniffles.

Lois gave him a small smile, getting up to gently place Jon in his crib and tiptoe towards the door, lifting her oldest son into her arms. He hugged her tightly, sniffling into her shoulder.

“Don’t cry, Honey. You’re a big boy.” Lois said, bouncing him like she used to when he was a baby. “What is it?”

Conner didn’t say anything, but Lois knew what was wrong.

“Why don’t we go lay down and read a book, huh?” Lois asked, trying to get the little boy to look at her. “You, me, and Daddy?”

Conner simply nodded.

* * *

 

Mommy and Daddy thought he was asleep between them, but he wasn’t. He just didn’t want to read anymore, so he pretended to fall asleep.

“Lois, he has to understand that you can’t give all of your attention to him anymore.” Clark whispered. That wasn’t true. If that stupid baby would just go away, she could.

“It’s hard for him, Clark. It’s been just the three of us for six years. He’s not used to me having to pay attention to someone else.” Lois whispered. Just the three of them, exactly how it should be.

“But Lois, he’s not a baby anymore.”

“Don’t remind me.” Lois ran her fingers through the boy’s hair. Conner always loved when she did that. “He’s gotten so big.”

“But isn’t that why we decided to have Jon? Because you missed having a baby around?” Clark asked. No way. Mommy couldn’t have missed that. She couldn’t have wanted to have that baby around.

“Well, yeah.” Lois nodded. “I feel like I just can’t give him the attention he deserves. He’s still my little boy, he still deserves to have a mom there for him. You don’t get it, Clark, you’ve always been an only child.”

“Maybe we should take him to see someone. Like a psychiatrist or something.” Clark suggested. That sounded scary.

“No, Clark, it’s normal.” Lois shook her head. “He just needs some extra care, is all. We need to include him. Treat him like the big boy he is.”

“And coddling him like this isn’t hurting?” Clark asked, motioning to their son.

“I’m not coddling him, Clark. But I’m not going to abandon him either.” She pointed out. “We can’t just ignore him in favor of Jon.”

“My mom offered to take him for a while if we need a break.” Clark said abruptly, and Lois’s fingers stopped their movement. Going to see Ma sounded like a lot of fun. “We could take him out there and he can stay on the farm with her and Pop for a week or two.”

A week? That’s a long time.

“Clark Joseph Kent, don’t you dare.” Lois said darkly. “He’s still our son. We’re not going to ship him off to the farm just because we have another baby now.”

“We’re not shipping him off, Lois, he’d get to spend some time with his grandparents and we can focus on Jon for a while.” Clark said, getting up from the bed and heading for the living room. “I can call my mom right now.”

“Don’t you touch that phone Clark. I am not sending my son away, even if it is with your parents.” Lois said, getting up to follow him, leaving Conner alone in the middle of their big bed.

Once they were both gone, Conner opened his eyes and sat up against the pillows. Well, if that was how they felt, he could run away to the farm on his own.

* * *

 

Conner finished packing his backpack with his favorite toys, zipping it up tight. He walked over to the crib and stared at Jon through the bars. Stupid baby.

Suddenly, Jon’s eyes opened, and the two of them made eye contact. He had blue eyes too, like Conner’s. That was kind of neat.

But then his eyes scrunched closed and the baby let out a wail.

Before Conner could step back, his parents came rushing in. Clark pushed him back from the crib.

“Conner, what did you do?” He asked, leaning over the crib.

“Nothing!” Conner shouted, trying to defend himself.

“Conner.” Lois scolded, lifting the baby out of the crib. Kon scrunched his face up in defiance, heading for the living room, opening the front door, and marching out.

* * *

 

The farm was a lot farther away than Conner thought, but he did end up at the playground a street over before he decided to take a break. He had to be like halfway there by now.

He parked himself on the park bench, taking out one of his toy cars.

“Excuse me?” Conner looked up and saw a woman with long black hair kneeling down in front of him. “Where is your mommy?”

“At home.” Kon said, running the car along the bench.

“What about Daddy?”

“He’s at home too.”

“Are you here by yourself?” The woman asked, and Kon remembered something about not talking to strangers, but this lady was really nice.

“I’m running away to the farm.” Conner said, and the woman nodded.

“Oh, I see. Well did you tell your Mommy and Daddy where you were going?” She asked. Conner shook his head. “Well they’re probably very worried about you.”

“They’re busy taking care of the baby.” Conner shrugged.

“What is your name?”

“I’m Conner.”

“My name is Diana. Can you tell me your phone number?”

“Sure.”

* * *

 

“Oh, Conner, Honey!” Lois shouted as she ran towards Diana, Conner in her arms, looking at some flowers on a tree in the park. The little boy saw her, simply crossed his arms.

“Conner, baby, you had me worried sick.” Lois said, trying to grab him, but he whined and turned away.

“Conner, stop that.” Clark said. Conner saw the baby strapped to his chest, a pacifier in his mouth.

“Don’t yell at him, Clark.” Lois said, reaching forward to take him. “Thank you so much, Diana. You’re a goddess.”

“Well, I have a niece about his age. I know it’s not always easy.” Diana said, running her hand through Conner’s hair.

“You ever need anything, you call me, okay?” Lois asked, and Diana nodded, heading off down the sidewalk. “Let’s sit down here, okay?” She said, sitting down on the bench with Conner on her lap.

“You scared us half to death, Conner.” Clark said as he sat down, adjusting the baby in his lap.

“Honey, why did you leave?” Lois asked, trying to get her son to look at her.

“You know better than to leave the apartment without one of us.” Clark scolded, but Lois waved him off.

“You were going to send me to the farm.” Conner said, crossing his arms.

“Oh, sweetheart, no, no.” Lois said, shooting Clark a glare. “We’re not going to send you anywhere, Honey. We love you so much, we’ll never do that.”

“Ma just wanted you to come visit, that’s all. It’s not a punishment.” Clark said, reaching out to run a hand through Conner’s hair but Lois pushed his hand away.

“Promise me you won’t leave us like that again, okay baby?” Lois asked, and Conner took a deep breath before nodding.

“I promise.” He mumbled.

“Let’s go home and have dinner, okay? I’ll even let you have a popsicle for dessert.” She said as she scooped him up, cuddling him close as they started the short trek to the apartment.

Conner looked over her shoulder and saw his Daddy carrying Jon, giving the baby a kiss on top of the head.

Stupid baby.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is like, two weeks after Janet passed away. Here you see a Jack Drake who never had to be the primary care giver to his son because he had his wife, and now he has no idea what he is doing on top of dealing with the death of his wife. And you see a Tim who was used to only his mom, who doesn't know how to process that the woman who took care of him and loved him daily is just gone and now he has a parent who doesn't know how to parent. All around frustrating. Dick is 11, Tim is 6. This is about a year before Jason is adopted and two years before Tim gets adopted.

Tim had to go to work with his dad on weekends now.

He had a business meeting, so that meant Tim had to go to the big building in downtown. His daddy said something about Mr. Wayne’s little boy being there too, but Tim didn’t know exactly who Mr. Wayne was. Just that he wanted to buy out his daddy’s company.

“Daddy, I’m tired,” Tim said, rubbing his eyes. He had to get up early to go in with his father, and he didn’t usually get up that early on weekends.

“I know, Tim.” Jack nodded with a sigh. “I promise, soon I’ll find you a nanny and you won’t have to come to work with me.”

“What’s a nanny?” Tim asked, jogging a bit to keep up with his father. His little legs didn’t move that fast.

“A nanny is someone who comes and takes care of children like you,” Jack explained as they stepped into the elevator. Tim looked up at his father. The dark circles under his eyes were worse, and he looked slimmer in his suit.

“Like Momma did?” He asked, and Jack took a deep breath before letting it out with a nod.

“Yes, like Momma did.” He added.

“I miss Momma.” Tim sniffed. He had to go back to school that week, and go to Drake Enterprises after school every day.

“I know, Tim,” Jack said, crouching down to scoop up his son as the elevator doors slid open onto the top floor. “I miss your mother too. But right now we’re going to talk to someone who is going to help me be home with you more so I won’t have to work on weekends and I can maybe get you from school some days.”

“So why do I need a nanny?” Tim asked, watching the hallway fly by as his dad rushed into the office.

“Because, Tim, I-I can’t,” Jack took a deep breath. “I might not be home every day. I’ll need someone to watch you when I’m not there.” He said as he set Tim down in one of the chairs in front of his desk.

“I don’t want a nanny, I want Momma.” Tim said, crossing his arms.

“Tim, you know I can’t bring Momma back.” Jack said, flopping into his chair.

“I know,” Tim said, his bottom lip quivering. “But I miss her.” He said with a sniffle.

“I know you do,” Jack said, resting his head on his desk.

“You want me to have a new Momma,” Tim cried, pulling his knees up to his chest as he hiccupped.

“No, Tim,” Jack shook his head. “Hey, calm down. I-I don’t want to replace your mother-“

“Yes you do!”

“Timothy Jackson!” Jack said, standing up and slamming his hands on the desk. This only prompted Tim to cry harder in his chair.

“Jack,”

The man in questioned looked up at the door and saw Bruce Wayne standing in the doorway with his son at his side, both in suits that matched.

“I’m sorry, Bruce, I’ll be just a minute,” Jack sighed, sitting back down in his seat. “I’m just dealing with something right now.”

Tim hiccupped.

“Jack, why don’t you and I go for a walk and let Dick here handle Tim. Give you both a moment to cool off?” Bruce asked, and Jack blinked at him for a moment before nodding.

“Okay,” He said, getting up and walking around his desk. “Be good, Tim,” he said, leaning down to give Tim a kiss on the cheek, but the child jerked away from him with a whine.

Jack sighed.

“Come on,” Bruce mumbled, giving Dick a nudge. The boy bound into the room, kneeling down beside Tim’s chair as the door shut behind the two men.

“Hi, Tim. Do you remember me? My name is Dick.” He said, and Tim looked at him with big, watery eyes. He offered a small nod. “I’m sorry about your mom. My mom and dad died too.”

Tim’s eyes widened.

“I know it’s sad, but I’m okay,” Dick nodded “Because now I have Bruce, and sometimes I miss my mom and dad, but it helps to have someone else.”

“Is Bruce your nanny?” Tim asked, furrowing his brows. Dick chuckled.

“No, Bruce adopted me. That makes him like my dad, only he doesn’t make me call him that or anything. He said I could call him whatever I wanted to, because he doesn’t want to replace my dad, just pick up where he left off.” Dick explained, and Tim lowered his feet so they were dangling off the chair.

“My momma had cancer,” Tim said, working over the words he had been taught in his head. He didn’t know exactly what that was, just that she kept getting sick, and then she was _really_ sick in the hospital, and Daddy didn’t want him to see her so sick, and he told her she wasn’t going to come home again because of the cancer.

“My parents fell during our trapeze act,” Dick said, holding out a hand for Tim to take. “Hey, let’s go play. What do you want to do?”

Tim shrugged.

“Well what do you like to do?”

“My momma used to play piano for me and sing.” Tim mumbled. “She was teaching me.”

“Oh, yeah?” Dick asked. “Is there a piano here?”

There was, Tim knew.

* * *

 

This office had been his mother’s when she was just Jack’s secretary, and he had given her the piano as a gift. She had never moved it, and neither had his new secretary, whom he hired after Tim was born.

It was a little dusty, but at least it was there.

“What do you know how to play?” Dick asked, sitting on the bench beside Tim.

“Um,” Tim stared at the keys. “Momma was teaching me Amazing Grace, but I don’t remember it.”

“Do you remember anything else?” Dick asked, looking around for any kind of sheet music. Tim stared at the keys for a moment before he reached out and pushed a few keys. “I think I know that!”

Tim nodded. He didn’t like to sing much, but playing the piano he could do a little.

“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are grey,” Dick sang, and Tim brightened at the fact that Dick recognized the song. Tim opened his mouth and sang along for the rest of the song. “Will you play it again? You did really good.”

Tim nodded and started playing again, this time he sang from the beginning with Dick.

* * *

 

Bruce and Jack found their sons sitting in Jack’s secretaries office at a piano, where Tim was fumbling through the notes to Amazing Grace.

“You almost had it, try again,” Dick was saying, and Tim nodded, taking a deep breath before starting from the beginning while they sang.

“That’s some kid you’ve got there, Bruce.” Jack said, watching his own son focus on the notes he was playing.

“He’s something else, but I can’t really take credit for that.” Bruce shrugged, leaning in the doorway. “Tim is pretty talented.”

“His mother played beautifully. She was teaching him,” Jack explained, and Bruce clapped him on the shoulder. “Maybe I’ll find him a teacher.”

“Well, I hope with your weekends to yourself you’ll spend some time with him,” Bruce said.

“I’ll try to, Bruce. Thank you for all of your help.” Jack said, turning to the man. “It means a lot.”

“I understand how hard loss is,” Bruce nodded. “Wayne Enterprises is more than happy to take up the big, time consuming stuff. You’ll still run mostly as a separate company, but we’ll take some of the burden.”

“It’s very appreciated.” Jack added, looking back towards Tim, who had played through the whole song. “Good job, Tim.”

“Daddy, can Dick come over for dinner?” Tim asked, turning around in his seat.

“Why don’t we plan for next week some time?” Jack asked, and Dick got up from the bench, running over to the pair for Bruce to rest his hand on his shoulder.

“I’m sure he would love to,” Bruce said, smiling down at his son. Tim finally got up as well and walked over to his father, holding his arms up. Jack obliged, lifting his only child into his arms.

“I’m sorry I yelled,” Tim mumbled into his shoulder.

“Me too, Tim,” Jack said with a nod. “I’ll be better.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so Jason is 10 here, making Roy also 10 and Dick 12. Dick has lived with Bruce for 2 years at this point. Sorry about the sadness. Also, Dinah and Ollie are not yet married, maybe engaged, not sure. They don't get married until Roy is 11, but she is totally living there.

Jason sat on the floor of the police station, emptying the contents of his stomach into the trash can while whoever that guy was patted his back.

“It’s okay, Jason,” The man said, but Jason knew it wasn’t.

Whatever it was that his mom had done, it was bad. Worse than drinking, worse than anything.

Because this meant he was all alone.

“I want my mom,” He cried over the garbage can. He couldn’t help it, that was the only person he had in the world. “I want her back, she can’t leave me.”

“Jason, listen, it’ll be okay. We’re going to take care of you,” The man said, but Jason wasn’t listening.

He thought calling 911 was what he was supposed to do in an emergency, but all they did was separate him and his mom, and then the guy came in and told him that his mom had died.

“Is there anyone we can call?” He asked, and Jason shook his head. “No family or friends?”

Roy. He could call Roy.

“I have one friend,” Jason mumbled, and the man nodded.

“Okay, can you tell me their phone number?” the man asked, and Jason nodded. The man moved over to his desk, leaving Jason on the floor, and started dialing the numbers as Jason rattled them off.

“Hello, this is Jim Gordon with the Gotham Police Department. I’m calling on behalf of Jason Todd,” Jim said, and paused while someone else talked. “He’s okay, but I am sorry to say his mother passed this evening.”

Jason started to gag again.

“This is the only number he gave me, Mr. Queen. I have the boy here at the police station,” Jim said, nodding at something Mr. Queen was saying. “Okay, we’ll see you soon then.”

Jim hung up the phone and Jason threw up again.

“Mr. Queen is coming to get you, okay?” Jim asked, kneeling back on the floor. “I’m going to go get you some water, alright?”

Jason nodded, pushing some tears off of his face.

* * *

 

Jason was still on the floor when he saw Mr. Queen rush in with Ms. Lance behind him, both dressed up.

“Jason, son, are you alright?” He asked, kneeling next to the boy. Jason shook his head and let out another sob. “Okay, okay, we’re going to be okay, I promise.”

Jason looked up as Roy ran in, standing beside Dinah, watching in horror as his best friend cried. Another man came in, and a boy that looked a little older than them.

“Mr. Queen, I’d like to speak with you for a moment,” Jim said, and Oliver nodded.

“I’ll be right back, okay, Jason?” He asked, and Jason nodded, hiccupping another sob. The man got up and followed Jim out of the office. The other man nodded at Jim as he left the room.

“Jason, Honey, why don’t you drink some of your water?” Dinah asked, kneeling beside him, picking up the untouched cup of water.

“My stomach hurts,” Jason shook his head. “I want to go home.”

“I know, Honey,” Dinah nodded. “Let me go get you a damp towel, okay? Clean you up a bit?”

Jason nodded, and Dinah kissed his cheek before she left him alone. Jason tried to wipe off his mouth and face, which was still covered in tears. He didn’t think he’d ever stop crying.

“Dad said you can come stay with us,” Roy said, sitting down next to his friend. “It’ll be like a sleepover all the time.”

“I don’t want to, I want to go home,” Jason mumbled, pulling his knees to his chest.

“I’m sorry about your mom,” The other boy spoke up as Dinah came rushing back in with a wet paper towel. She leaned down and wiped over Jason’s face, giving him another kiss on the top of his head.

“Honey, I’m sorry, we didn’t introduce you. This is Mr. Wayne, he was over for dinner with his son Dick,” Dinah explained, helping Jason to stand up. He gave a bit of a wave and his lip twitched, but he wasn’t exactly happy to have strangers around.

The boy, apparently named Dick, stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Jason, who simply stood still.

“I’m sorry,” he said again. “My parents died too.”

“’m sorry,” Jason mumbled as the boy stepped back. “Dinah, can we go home, now?” He asked, and she pulled him into her arms.

“Soon, baby, I promise,” She said, rocking slightly. “Once Ollie is done talking to Mr. Gordon.”

“Jason, perhaps I can be of some help,” Mr. Wayne said, and Jason looked up at him. He took a card out of his jacket and handed it to the boy. “I, like you and Dick, also lost my parents around your age. And if you would like, I will handle the funeral for your mother.”

“That’s very kind of you, Bruce.” Dinah said, and Jason nodded.

“Thank you, Mr. Wayne,” he mumbled.

“Any time you need anything, you let me know,” He said as Jim and Oliver came back into the room.

“Come on, boys, let’s go home,” Ollie said, holding out his hand for Roy to take.

* * *

 

“Now, you can sleep in here for as long as you’d like,” Dinah said as she tucked Jason into the bed in one of the guest rooms. “Or you can sleep in Roy’s room with him. It’s up to you. Wherever you’re comfortable.”

“Thank you, Dinah.” Jason mumbled, getting comfortable under the covers.

“Now if you can’t sleep, you can come get me or Oliver, okay? Wake us up if you need to,” She said, leaning down to kiss his cheek. “I love you, Jason.”

“I love you too, Dinah.” Jason said as she turned off the table lamp and left him alone.

* * *

 

“Is he asleep?” Oliver asked when Dinah strode into the kitchen where he was making coffee.

“Well, he’s tucked in bed. I don’t think he’s asleep yet,” She sighed, taking a mug of coffee. “That poor boy.”

“If I’d have known his mother was that bad-“

“Ollie, don’t beat yourself up. He was bound to lose his mother one way or another,” She said, reaching out to rub his arm. “I just wish he hadn’t seen it.”

“And we’re sorry for interrupting the evening, Bruce.” Oliver said, watching the man drink his coffee at the bar stool.

“Nonsense,” Bruce said, rolling up his sleeves. “In fact, I’d like to give Jason a home.”

“Oh, Bruce, it’s no trouble for him to stay here-“

“I understand,” Bruce nodded. “However, I feel that having people around with similar experiences may be beneficial. Of course, it would be his decision.”

“That’s so kind of you, Bruce.” Oliver said, setting his mug down. “I know how good you are with Dick.”

Bruce smiled and glanced back towards the living room where Dick was asleep on one of the couches.

“In the morning we’ll talk to Jason and perhaps see what he would like to do,” Oliver said with a nod. He opened his mouth to speak again when he heard little feet walking into the kitchen. “Roy, what are you doing out of bed?”

“I had a bad dream,” Roy said with a yawn, rubbing at one of his eyes. He walked over to Oliver, who scooped him up.

“Do you want to talk about it, Sweetheart?” He asked as the boy started to nod off against his shoulder. He shook his head.

“Do you want me to tuck you back in?” Dinah asked, brushing some of his hair out of his face.

“Daddy?” He asked, looking up at Oliver.

“We’ll both go tuck you in, alright?” Oliver asked, and Roy nodded. The three moved back towards the hall that led to the stairs, mumbling something amongst themselves. Bruce watched them go, and saw Jason poke his head out of the foyer once they had moved past the door.

“Jason, are you alright?” He asked, and the boy walked into the kitchen and sat down on the stool. “Did you have a nightmare too?”

Jason shook his head.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

Jason shrugged.

“Did you swallow your tongue?” Bruce asked, and the corner of Jason’s lip quirked up a bit. “Oh, so there’s a smile.”

“Did you mean it, Mr. Wayne?” Jason asked. “About having the funeral for my mom?”

“Of course,” Bruce nodded. “I did the same for my son when his parents passed. It’s the least I could do. And anything else you may need, consider it done.”

“Will you take me back home?” Jason asked, looking up at the man with glassy blue eyes. “I miss my own bed.”

“I can’t leave you there alone, Jason,” Bruce said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “But tomorrow if you want, I can take you back so we can gather all the things you want to have and keep.”

“I don’t want to live here,” Jason sighed, shoulders slumping.

“No?”

“No,” Jason shook his head. “This is Roy’s house. And Mr. Queen and Dinah are nice but I don’t want to live here. It’s not my house.”

“Jason,” Bruce took a deep breath, looking back to see if the pair was returning. “Would you like to come live with me?”

“Oh, I don’t want you to have to-“

“I want to, Jason. I really do. I have plenty of rooms, and you can do with them whatever you like,” Bruce said, and Jason looked down at his lap. “Of course, we’d have to talk to the social workers, but I had little trouble adopting Dick.”

“Adopt?” Jason asked, looking up again. “You want to adopt me?”

“Well yes, I can’t just have you live with me. I think that’d be considered kidnapping,” Bruce chuckled, but Jason just looked at him with owlish eyes. “Of course, only if that’s alright with you.”

Jason looked down again, twiddling with his thumbs. Someone wanted him. No one ever wanted him before.

Tears started falling from his eyes as he let out a sob.

“Hey, don’t cry,” Bruce said, putting a hand on his back. “You don’t want to make yourself sick again.”

Jason just nodded.

“You’re alright,” The man wrapped an arm around Jason and lifted the smaller boy into his lap, letting him rest against his chest. He startled a little when his other arm moved. He looked down and there was Dick, reaching out to brush Jason’s hair out of his eyes, tucked under Bruce’s other arm while he stood on the floor.

“We can be brothers, Jason,” Dick said, smiling. “I’ve never had a brother before.”

Bruce looked up when he saw Dinah and Oliver reentering the kitchen, Dinah smiling at him. He looked back down at the two raven colored mops of hair and smiled back at the couple.

* * *

 

Jason was busy unpacking his things into his new room when the door opened.

He had spent a few days at Roy’s house, and finally he was able to move in with Mr. Wayne and get all of his stuff and some of his mother’s things from their apartment.

“Hey,” Dick said, and Jason blinked at him.

“Hey.”

“You want some help?” Dick asked, stepping up to a small stack of boxes.

“Sure,” Jason shrugged. “Those are my books.”

“We can put them in the library if you want,” Dick said, and Jason whipped his head around.

“There’s a library here?” Jason asked, and Dick nodded with a smile.

“I know Bruce hasn’t given you the grand tour yet, but I can show you where it is.” Dick said, holding out his hand. Jason looked at him for a minute before nodding and taking the hand offered to him to be led to the library.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This whole chapter is just working on Dick growing, we haven't seen much of Dick yet other than sad because his parents died and just being an exceptionally nurturing little boy. Be warned, puberty stuff.

Dick coughed a bit as he tried to get his voice to sound as normal as possible.

It wasn’t working.

“Master Dick, are you feeling alright?” Alfred asked, moving to feel the tween’s forehead.

“I feel fine,” Dick croaked. “My voice is just being weird.”

“Ha ha, Dick’s got a funny voice,” Jason teased from the other side of the table. Bruce glanced up from the morning paper.

“It’s not funny, Jason,” Dick squeaked, which made the younger boy laugh harder. “What if I broke my voice?” He asked, looking up at Alfred.

“Well, I do believe your voice is breaking, young sir, but not in that way,” Alfred said with a small chuckle.

“You sound like a chicken,” Jack snickered to himself.

“That’s enough, boys.” Bruce finally said. “Alfred, will you take Jason to school?”

“What about me, Bruce?” Dick asked, glaring at Jason as he laughed on the other side of the table.

“I’ll drive you to school a bit late, okay? We should talk.” Bruce said, and Dick sunk in his chair. Usually when Bruce wanted to talk, he was in trouble.

“No fair, why does Dick get to go to school late?” Jason asked as Alfred walked in with a backpack in hand.

“I believe in a few years, you’ll understand why this is not a fun time for Master Dick,” Alfred pointed out, helping the younger boy into his backpack straps. “Let’s get you to school, Master Jason.”

Bruce waited until Alfred and Jason had fled the room before he turned to his oldest.

“Am I in trouble?” Dick asked, eyes downcast.

“No,” Bruce chuckled. “Come sit on my lap.”

“Bruce, aren’t I too old to sit on your lap?” Dick asked with an eye roll, but still he moved to sit on the man’s leg in the large dining chair

“I don’t think you’ll ever be too old,” Bruce said, ruffling his hair. “I want to talk to you about your voice.”

“What about it?”

“Well, you see, this is a sign that you’re going through puberty. I believe you learned about that in school,” Bruce said, and Dick nodded.

“But I’m not like, growing a mustache or anything.” Dick scowled.

“No,” Bruce chuckled. “But you’re going to be changing some in other ways. You’ll probably start to sweat more, and you’ll grow hair under your arms, you might get some acne. And you might have some emotions you can’t really explain.”

“Gross,” Dick said, wrinkling his nose. “Why would I sweat more?”

“It’s a part of it,” Bruce shrugged. “That’s why adults wear deodorant. I’ll have Alfred pick some up for you at the store, okay?”

“Okay,” Dick nodded. “When will my voice stop doing this?”

“Well, what’s happening is that your voice is getting deeper. It’s a process, but all boys go through it, so it’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” Bruce explained. “It just means you’re growing up.”

“Is my voice going to be deep like yours?” Dick asked, perking up a bit.

“It might be. Everyone is different,” Bruce said, leaning in to kiss Dick’s temple. “But hey, I just want you to know that whatever you’re going through, it’s normal. And if you ever have anything you want to talk to me about, and I mean anything, I’m here, no judgment.”

“Okay,” Dick nodded. “Thanks, Bruce.”

“Of course, Chum.” Bruce said, giving his head another kiss. “Now go get your back pack, we might still be able to get you to school on time.”

* * *

 

Dick closed his locker after his first class. He wasn’t actually late after all, and he was able to pay attention through most of history.

“Hey.”

He looked over and saw Wally standing beside him, carrying an English book.

“Hey,” Dick mumbled, but still his voice cracked.

“You okay? You sound sick.” Wally asked as they headed towards their next class.

“I’m fine,” Dick groaned. He had to give a book report in class, he was going to sound stupid. “Bruce says my voice is changing.”

“Oh, that happened to me last summer,” Wally said with a grimace. “It sucked.”

“I have to give a stupid book report this hour,” Dick squeaked.

“Oh,” Wally mumbled, stopping his walking. Dick paused too, glancing down the hall to see if maybe, just maybe, someone would be picking him back up from school. “I don’t go until tomorrow, want to switch?”

“No, it’s not going to be fixed by tomorrow,” Dick scowled.

“Well, maybe you can play sick and I can give it for you,” Wally suggested, and Dick smiled.

“Thanks, Walls,” He said, pulling his paper out of his book. “I owe you.”

The two tweens continued to their classroom, taking their seats beside each other. As the class started, Wally raised his hand.

“Ms. Marshall, Dick is sick and doesn’t have a voice. Can I read his report for him?” He asked, and their teacher sighed.

“Do you have a doctor’s note?” She asked, directing her question at Dick, who shook his head. “What about a note from your father?”

Another head shake.

“Then I’m sorry, but then how do I know you’re sick?”

Dick frowned, ready to give up the charade, but then there was a knock on the open door.

“Excuse me, I’m Jason Todd, I’m dropping off Dick Grayson’s lunch, he left it at home.”

Dick turned around and saw Jason standing in the door way, holding a brown paper bag. He caught sight of his brother and strode in.

“And why didn’t the office call him down to get it?” Ms. Marshall asked.

“Well, I was in the office already,” Jason shrugged, and Dick threw a look at him. The younger just shrugged. “Nothing important, don’t tell Bruce. They just sent me with it.”

“Very well. While you’re here, can I ask you a question?”

“Of course, ma’am.” Jason nodded.

“Is Mister Grayson actually sick or is he trying to get out of giving an oral report?” She asked, and Jason looked over at Dick for a moment.

“He’s sick, Miss. He didn’t have a fever, so he got sent to school, but he doesn’t have much of a voice today,” Jason said, and Dick nodded enthusiastically. “Sorry, I guess Bruce forgot to write a note.”

“Thank you, Mr. Todd, please go back to class,” Ms. Marshall said, and Jason smiled at her before hurrying out of the room. “Well, Mr. Grayson, your story checks out. Mr. West can give your report, as long as I can see that you wrote it.”

Wally held his hand out for a low five, which Dick returned.

* * *

 

“Why did you lie for me?” Dick asked when he found Jason after school, waiting for Alfred.

“Well, I know you don’t want everyone to hear you,” Jason shrugged. “And I figured if I backed you up you wouldn’t tell Bruce I got called down to the office.”

“Why did you get in trouble?”

“I put a tack on Mr. Mumphry’s chair,” Jason shrugged again.

“Why?”

“Roy dared me.”

“You’re going to get into worse trouble one day,” Dick warned. “But I won’t tell Bruce.”

“Thanks,” Jason scowled down at the ground. “’m sorry for making fun of you.”

“’s okay.” Dick mumbled. “Bruce told me it’s part of getting older I guess.”

“Is my voice going to do that?” Jason asked, looking up with owlish eyes.

“I don’t know,” Dick shrugged. “Probably. Wally’s did, and Bruce said it happens to every boy.”

“Can we watch a movie later?” Jason asked as Alfred’s car approached.

“Sure,” Dick shrugged as he got into the front seat, glad to be done with the conversation.

* * *

 

At first, Dick had thought maybe Jason had woken him up so suddenly. Sometimes the younger  boy would come sleep in his room when he had a nightmare not quite bad enough that he felt he had to seek out Bruce, and they  _had_ watched a scary movie.

But then he felt uncomfortably wet, so he figured that was what had woken him up.

He pushed himself out of bed, hurrying away from it and into his bathroom where he yanked off his pajamas.

At least he didn’t wet the bed, though he didn’t know what would be more embarrassing.

They had learned in school about what the health teacher had called ‘nocturnal emissions’ and Dick figured this was what that was, but what it actually was or why, he didn’t know.

But he did know that no one else could find out about this.

He changed into clean pajamas and underwear before he started tearing apart his bed, inspecting every piece of bedding for a wet spot. His comforter was fine, as were all his pillow cases, but his flat sheet and fitted sheet would need to be washed.

Dick didn’t want to just drop them in the dirty laundry because then Alfred would know, so he balled them up in his arms, along with his pajamas, and left his room.

The washer and dryer were down by Alfred’s room near the back staircase. Bruce had explained to him that when the manor was first built, servants weren’t allowed to use the main stairs, but that changed decades ago and Alfred hardly used those stairs anymore.

“Dick?”

Darn it.

The boy turned and saw that Bruce was still up and working in his office, the lights all still on.

“What are you doing?”

He didn’t know what to say, his throat constricting with the sudden embarrassment. How would he even explain this to Bruce? He felt tears welling in his eyes as the man got up from his desk and left his room in favor of the hallway.

“Did you have a nightmare? From the movie?” Bruce asked, glancing down at the ball of sheets in his oldest’s arms. Dick shook his head, feeling his bottom jaw tremble. His face was turning red with embarrassment and his struggle to not cry. “Dick, do you want to talk about it?”

Again he shook his head.

“Okay, Chum, come here,” Bruce knelt down and moved the laundry out of his son’s arms so he could pull him into a hug. “What’s wrong, why are you crying?”

Dick didn’t say anything, just clung to his father figure while he tried to keep his composure.

“Why don’t I help you, yeah?” Bruce asked, pulling back, and Dick nodded, wiping at one of his eyes. “Okay. Come on.”

Bruce gathered up the sheets and led Dick down the hall to the laundry room. He tossed the pile onto the floor and lifted the boy up to sit on the dryer.

“Do you want to talk about your dream?” Bruce asked, leaning against the washing machine.

“I don’t remember it,” Dick said with a sniff. “I just woke up suddenly.”

Bruce nodded and turned to the cabinet above the washing machine.

“Well, now would be a good time to teach you how to do laundry,” He said, pulling down a bottle of detergent and following that with the fabric softner. “In case this happens again.”

“Again?” Dick squeaked, sitting up straight. “It’s going to happen again?”

“It might,” Bruce chuckled. “Listen, Chum, it’s okay. It’s normal. Your body is changing, it’s transitioning into a man’s body.”

“But why does it happen?” Dick asked, looking down at the laundry on the floor.

“Why don’t I show you how to do this and then we’ll go talk in your room, okay?” Bruce asked, and Dick nodded, watching as the man measured out the detergent into the cap.

* * *

 

Luckily Bruce was a very large man, and Dick still hadn’t hit his growth spurt so he could still carry him back to his room.

“Alright, I’ll go get some new sheets, okay? We’ll put your bed back together.” Bruce said, setting the boy down and ruffling his hair before going to the bathroom to grab sheets out of the linen closet.

He brought them out and started to unfold the fitted sheet when Dick spoke up again.

“Why does that happen?” He asked, grabbing one corner and pulling it over the corner of the mattress.

“See, what’s happening is that now, your body is making a hormone called testosterone. And it’s what’s making your body change,” Bruce started to explain. “And when things like this start happening, it’s because your body is getting ready to do what adults do, which is have children.”

“But I’m only 12-“

“I know, I know,” Bruce nodded, trying not to send his son into a panic. “But see, your body is going to continue to change for another few years. You might not notice it all the time, but it will. Eventually, this too will stop happening.”

Dick nodded as they started unfolding the flat sheet.

“But why does it happen at night?” Dick asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You were probably having a dream about sex,” Bruce sighed, tucking one of the bottom corners under the mattress. “You might not remember it, and it might not have been just sex, but it was probably something that really excited you.”

“It’s not going to happen during the day, is it?” Dick asked, scowling.

“No, but during the day something else might happen,” Bruce explained as he tossed the balled up comforter back onto the bed and started to smooth it out and untwist it. “You remember how they taught you about erections?”

“Yeah,” Dick nodded.

“Well because your body is new to them, you might get those during the day when something excites you,” Bruce said, grabbing the discarded pillows and placing them back in order on the bed. “This is all normal, Dick. It happens to every boy, promise.”

“Okay,” Dick nodded and gave a small sniffle. “Thank you for helping me.”

“Of course, Chum,” Bruce said, scooping the boy up and setting him back in his bed before sitting beside him, handing him his stuffed elephant. “And now you know how to take care of it if it happens again. But if you still need me, you can come get me, okay?”

“Okay,” Dick nodded again, curling up under the covers.

“You’re just growing up, Dick. It’ll all be normal again one day, I promise,” He leaned down and gave the boy a kiss on the forehead before getting up from the bed. “Love you, Chum.”

“Love you too, Bruce.” Dick smiled as he got more comfortable. Bruce turned out the lights as he left, thanking whatever higher power that he had two boys because this talk would not have been as well with girls.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I saw Mamma Mia 2 and I was have motherly feels

Conner scowled at the almost silent television. He couldn’t turn it up because Jon was taking a nap, and he couldn’t watch in their room because that’s where Jon was napping.

“Conner, Honey, please pick up your toys when you’re done,” Lois said as she gently pushed a toy car out of her pathway with her foot.

“It’s Jon’s, Mom.” He argued, but she gave him a stern look. He groaned and got off of the couch to pick up the toys on the floor.

“Will you put that in the toy box?” She asked, picking up a pair of Clark’s socks that were on the couch. “I want to make sure it gets moved.”

“Sure,” Kon shrugged, tossing them in the cardboard box in the corner labeled ‘Toys’. They moved this weekend. “I don’t know where any of my toys are.”

“I know, Baby, but we’ll unpack everything together, okay? Make sure you have it all.” Lois said, leaning down to kiss the crown of his head. “You daddy is just signing some papers, and tomorrow morning we’re going to get up bright and early and some men are going to come move all our stuff and we’re going to go to the new apartment.”

“Okay,” Kon nodded. He didn’t want to move, this was where he lived. “Mom, why are we moving?”

“Because, Baby, it’s closer to work for your daddy and me. And since we’re both going to be working every day, it’s important,” Lois explained. They had to have a babysitter now, and Kon was not happy about it. He opened his mouth to voice his opinions about the babysitter, but Jon started crying in their room. “Sweetheart, can you be a big boy for Mommy and go check on Jon? I have to do one thing really quick and then I’ll be in, okay?”

Kon sighed, but he went to their room anyways where Jon was in his crib, crying. He was only one, and Kon thought he was kind of boring. Babies didn’t do anything.

“Why are you crying?” He asked, though he knew he wouldn’t get an answer, but the cries lessened when the younger saw he wasn’t alone. Conner reached through the crib and put his hands on Jon’s warm belly, which was something he liked. He liked seeing how big he was in comparison to Jon.

“Babies cry for a lot of reasons,” Lois said as she strode into the room, holding a washcloth in her hand. “I think Jon is getting a new tooth, and that hurts.” She picked up the baby and moved to the rocking chair where she gave her youngest the washcloth.

“It doesn’t hurt when I get a tooth,” Conner said, sitting up on her other leg, even if it did make her lap crowded having the baby there.

“No, because your baby teeth already made room for them,” she explained. “See, Jon’s growing his baby teeth. It has to cut through his gums and that hurts.”

“Did I cry when I got my baby teeth?”

“Oh yeah,” Lois nodded with a laugh. “I was about at my wit’s end when you started teething. But I called Ma, and she said your daddy was the same way. That’s when she told me about this little trick.”

Conner watched as Jon gnawed on the wet washcloth, pushing it towards his back teeth and drooling on his chin.

“I have another loose tooth, Mommy,” Conner said, opening his mouth to wiggle one and show his mother. “Maybe Jonny and I will get teeth at the same time.”

“Maybe you will,” Lois giggled, leaning in to kiss her oldest’s cheek.

“Well there you all are.”

The trio looked up to see Clark standing in the doorway, tie undone and sleeves rolled up. Jon squealed, holding his free arm out towards the man. Clark swooped in, scooping the boy up and giving him a kiss on his pudgy cheek.

“Hey, Jonno,” he said, cuddling the boy against his chest.

“Daddy, Jon is getting a new tooth,” Conner said, perking up at his new knowledge.

“I see that,” Clark nodded, moving the wash cloth a little. “He’s going to have as many teeth as you soon.”

“But Daddy, I’m getting my big teeth,” Conner said, and Lois ran a hand through his hair.

“He’s got another loose tooth,” Lois explained, and Conner nodded, opening his mouth to show his father.

“My boys are getting so big,” Clark said, moving Jon to the floor so he could crawl around. “You’re out growing this room.”

“Do we get a bigger room at the new apartment?” Conner asked, holding his arms out to be picked up. Clark complied, lifting him up and settling the boy on his hip.

“We get a bigger everything at the new apartment,” Clark said, and Conner’s eyes widened.

“Do we get a bigger tv?” He asked, and Lois barked out a laugh.

“Okay, maybe not everything,” She amended.

* * *

 

Lois ended up having to carry Conner into the apartment the first time because he was so excited and was wiggling around so much that Clark was getting frustrated with him.

“Can I see our room?” Conner asked right away, and Lois laughed, moving towards the hallway. She walked into the first room on the right and set her oldest down so he could run around the larger room.

“It’s so big!” He yelled, looking up at the ceiling fan.

“Your daddy and I were thinking we could put your bed here,” she said moving to stand in front of the corner window, extending her arms out. “And your dresser here, and we were thinking maybe we can get you a desk for you to do homework at right here.” She moved about the room, Conner’s eyes following her as she motioned to areas for furniture to go.

“Can we put my toybox here?” He asked, jumping into the spot that would be at the foot of his bed.

“I think that’s a great idea,” Lois nodded with a wide smile. Conner smiled back at her, but it fell quickly as he looked around the room.

“Where is Jon’s crib going to go?” He asked, furrowing his brows and scrunching up his face. Lois chuckled, she always saw that look on Clark’s face when he was thinking.

“Well, Jon’s crib is going to go in the room next to yours,” She said, nodding towards the shared wall. “You both get your own room.”

Conner’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he looked around again. He ran towards Lois and wrapped his arms around her hips in a tight hug.

“How about you go help Daddy with some of the boxes, okay? The movers are going to be here soon with all the furniture.” She said, kneeling down to his level. Conner nodded, running out his bedroom door, right past Clark who was holding Jon in the hallway.

“So he was excited?” He asked as Lois emerged from the room as well.

“Yes,” she nodded, reaching out to take the baby. “Go help him get our boxes before he explodes.”

“Right,” Clark leaned over to kiss her cheek, then followed their oldest son to the living room.

* * *

 

Lois lifted Jon out of the bubbly tub, wrapping him in a towel and balancing him on her hip as Conner climbed out to wrap himself in his own towel. They were both pretty tired after unpacking and running around all day, so an early bath and bedtime was needed.

“Honey, go ahead and get in some pajamas, okay? I’ll be in to tuck you in after I put Jon in his crib.”

Conner nodded, staying wrapped in his towel as he walked through the apartment towards his bedroom. His father was on the couch, snoring, and he gave his knee a good pat as he passed him, effectively waking him up with a jolt.

“Daddy, it’s bedtime.” He said, blinking up at him with his big, blue eyes that matched Clark’s. The man smiled a bit, nodding at the boy.

“Right,” He said, getting up and ruffling Conner’s wet hair as he walked towards the hallway. Conner followed, heading for his own room instead of the master bedroom.

He pulled out a pair of underwear and his favorite pajamas that had tractors all over them. He quickly got dressed, leaving his discarded towel on the floor as he grabbed a book off of the shelf and rushed over to his bed to wait.

“All set?” Lois asked as she strode in, now dressed in her pajamas and robe. Conner nodded as she sat down beside him and took the book. “We’ve read this one.”

“It’s my favorite,” Conner said, leaning into Lois’s side. She gave him a smile as she opened the book to read to him before bed.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I wanted to show a bit more of Roy as a child. If you haven't read my other story, Roy is the child of Oliver Queen and Muriel Harper, and she gave Roy to Oliver shortly after he was born and never returned. Roy is 11 in this one, as is Jason.

Roy was running down the hall towards the stairs, Alfred was coming to pick him up, he and Jason were going to see a movie and they would be arriving soon.

"Roy!"

Roy slowed his steps, ready for the 'no running in the house' to follow.

"Sorry-"

"Could you come here for a minute?" Oliver asked, poking his head out of the office. Roy furrowed his brows, trying to think if he did anything wrong lately. He couldn't think if anything that would require a talk.

"Am I in trouble?" Roy asked as he stood between the 2 chairs on one side of the desk. Ollie motioned him closer, and he walked around to the other side of the desk warily.

"No, Speedy, you’re not in trouble," Oliver chuckled, patting his knee. "Come sit on my lap here."

"Dad," Roy whined. He was too old to be sitting on his dad's lap. And too old to be called Speedy. "Don't call me that."

"Sorry, bud," he said as Roy sat on his thigh, still waiting for the yelling to start. "I just wanted to talk to you about something important."

"Okay," Roy said, raising an eyebrow.

"How do you feel about Dinah?" Oliver asked, and Roy scowled at him.

"I like her, she's nice," Roy shrugged, still not sure what his dad was getting at. "Why?"

"Because I'd like to ask Dinah to marry me, but I wanted to talk to you about it first," Oliver said, bringing a hand up to adjust Roy’s hair. "I wouldn't bring someone into your life if you weren't okay with it."

"Oh," Roy said with a blink. "So I'm not in trouble?"

"No, kiddo, you're not in trouble," Oliver laughed, pulling the boy in for a hug. "Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah," Roy nodded. "So she'd be like, my mom?"

"Of sorts," Oliver said, tilting his head. "I know it's only been you and I for a long time, are you sure you're okay with it?"

"Yeah, I think so," Roy nodded. "I don't have to call her mom, do I?"

"No, bud, you can keep calling her Dinah," Oliver laughed. They paused when they heard the doorbell ring.

"That's Jason!" Roy said, hopping off of his father's lap and running towards the hallway.

"Hold it, Speedy," Oliver said, and Roy froze, spinning around to face the man as he strode over and knelt down in front of him. "I love you, behave okay?"

"Of course, Dad," Roy said as he was hugged again.

"And thank you," Oliver added as he pulled back. "You go have fun, I'll pick you up in the morning."

"Okay!" Roy shouted as he ran out into the hall and sprinted down the stairs

* * *

 

Just like Oliver promised, he was there to pick up Roy in the morning.

“Good morning, Mister Queen,” Alfred said as he answered the door, and Roy perked up from where he and Jason were eating breakfast at the kitchen island. “And Miss Lance. The boys are in the kitchen.”

Roy turned just in time to see the butler leading Oliver and Dinah into the kitchen, the couple holding hands.

“Hey, Speedy, you all packed?” Oliver asked, and Roy shook his head, sliding off of his seat to go get his stuff from Jason’s room. “Hurry up, kiddo, we’ve got some errands to run.”

“Do we have to?” Roy asked as he trudged to the door.

“Yes.”

“Ugh,” Roy groaned, turning towards the stairs. Oliver leaned down and gave him a warning push on the backside.

“Go,” He said as Roy sprinted off. Oliver would never understand how the boy could purposefully move so slowly when all he’d done since he could walk was run.

The two boys ran up to Jason’s room, laughing as they raced. Roy only had a few things to gather, his clothes from the day before and his pajamas, toothbrush and whatnot, but he had to find said things first.

Roy dug under the bed and found his jeans, and Jason grabbed the pajamas from the corner by the book case. There was a polo under Jason’s desk, and the toothbrush was on the bathroom counter.

“You wanna come over after school on Monday?” Jason asked as they headed back downstairs, Roy’s bag slung over the redhead’s shoulder.

“I’ll ask my dad,” Roy nodded as they got to the bottom. Oliver put a hand on Roy’s shoulder.

“Ready to go?” He asked, and Roy nodded before leaning over to give Jason a hug before following Oliver out the door. The trio walked to the car, and Roy scowled when he realized that he had to sit in the back seat.

“How about after we go to the bank and stop by the office, the three of us go to lunch?” Dinah asked, turning around to smile at Roy.

“Sure,” Roy shrugged.

“So did you and Jason have fun?” Oliver asked as he pulled out of the driveway.

“Yeah,” Roy nodded. “Dad, do we have to go to the office?”

“I’ve got a few things I’ve got to do there, Speedy, I’m sorry,” Oliver shrugged. “You and Dinah can hang out for a little while.”

“Fine,” Roy groaned. “Don’t call me Speedy.”

* * *

 

“So how’s school, Roy?” Dinah asked. She was sitting at Oliver’s desk, drawing a card from the deck that Oliver kept in his desk drawer. They were playing go fish, though Roy preferred more complicated, like Rummy.

“It’s fine,” Roy shrugged, glancing over his cards.

“You’re in 6th grade now, right?”

“Yeah,” Roy nodded. Dinah scowled. She wasn’t getting anywhere.

“Hey, why don’t I teach you a poker game?” She asked, sly smile on her face. Roy perked up.

“Isn’t that for adults?” Roy asked, raising a brow. “That’s what Dad says when he and Hal play.”

“Well we don’t have to tell him then,” Dinah said as she took the cards and started to shuffle. “So hey, your dad said he talked to you about me and him getting married.”

“Yeah,” Roy nodded as Dinah dealt him cards.

“Don’t look at them yet, we’ll play an open hand in a minute,” she said, setting her own cards aside. “I want you to know that I’m not going to start acting like your mom.”

“I don’t know what a mom acts like,” Roy shrugged one shoulder, and he noticed Dinah frown for a moment.

“Well either way, I wanted to let you know that I’m here for you, and I don’t want to do this if you’re not okay with it,” Dinah said, and Roy nodded.

“You make Dad happy,” He said, turning his cards face up. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, Honey,” Dinah said, following his lead and turning her cards face up.

“Can I go to Jason’s after school on Monday?”

Dinah laughed.

* * *

 

“Gotta pee!” Roy shouted as he ran through the house towards the nearest bathroom. Oliver sighed, rubbing at his temples.

“I hope you know what you’re getting into,” He said, turning to Dinah as she took off her coat and hung it in the closet.

“Of course I do,” Dinah leaned in, placing a kiss on his cheek. “He’s a good kid. I look forward to being more involved.”

“You know, I think we’ve still got a bottle of wine in the fridge,” Oliver said as he pulled her into his arms. “What do you say we get it and head upstairs for a few hours.”

“With Roy here?”

“When he’s older he’ll understand,” Oliver leaned in to capture her lips, relishing the feeling of her body pressed against his, getting flashes of the previous night’s love making, all that skin exposed to him in celebration of their engagement.

“Gross!”

The pair parted, turning to see Roy standing in the foyer, covering his eyes.

“Hey, bud, why don’t you go unpack your bag and clean your room,” Oliver suggested, stepping away from Dinah.

“I cleaned my room yesterday,” Roy said, crossing his arms. “You told me I had to before I went to Jason’s house.”

Oh. Right. He did say that.

“You want me to just leave you alone for a while, right?” Roy asked, and Oliver blushed. He probably shouldn’t admit how much he had asked Roy to just leave him be for a while with a woman. “Can we get pizza for dinner?”

“Sure.”

“Okay, I’m going to watch tv.”

* * *

 

Dinah was there overnight sometimes already, and she knew Roy’s bedtime routine well enough. He was getting a bit old to be tucked in, but sometimes he stayed up in the living room until he fell asleep on the couch. It was usually fake falling asleep so he could be carried to bed, but Oliver wouldn’t call his bluff.

“Daddy?” Roy asked, and Oliver smiled a bit. He had mostly grown out of calling him Daddy, but when he was tired it still slipped sometimes.

“Hey, Speedy,” Oliver said as he settled the boy into his bed. “You need anything before you go to bed?”

“Can you tell me a story?” Roy asked, cuddling into his blankets. It wasn’t an odd request, but Oliver knew what he was getting at.

“What story do you want to hear, bud?” He asked, and Roy shrugged. He exchanged a look with Dinah, who was standing in the doorway, before running his fingers through Roy’s hair. “Well, once, Muriel and I went to an amusement park. And while we were there, one of the guys eating started choking. And she ran up to him and started giving him the Heimlich, she saved his life.”

Oliver would never forget the time he spent with Muriel, a wonderful woman who just wasn’t ready to parent a child. He didn’t know where she was now, he tried to contact her but never succeeded. If she wanted to see her son, he wouldn’t stop her, but it had been 11 years, and Roy didn’t know his mom at all.

Sometimes he just wanted to hear some of the few stories Oliver had of her from the few months they had dated.

“And then we went on this rollercoaster, and she caught my hat before it could fly off my head. Lightning reflexes, that one,” Oliver said, and Roy blinked up at him with the same blue eyes he possessed.

“Like me?”

“Just like you, Speedy. She was so fast. She was the first to react in every situation,” Oliver said, leaning down to kiss Roy’s forehead.

“Do you think she’d like me?” Roy mumbled, and Oliver sighed, pulling the boy into his side for a hug.

“I think so, buddy,” Oliver nodded. Never mind that she didn’t want to know Roy, she would have loved him. “Wherever your mom is, I’m sure she loves you.”

“Daddy, can I sleep with you?” Roy asked, gazing up at his father with owlish eyes.

“How about I stay in here with you, okay? Until you fall asleep?” Oliver asked, and Dinah strode over to the other side of the bed to sit down. “You’re a little big to be climbing into my bed, buddy.”

“You have a big bed,” Roy pointed out as he cuddled into Oliver’s side. Dinah leaned down to kiss his cheek.

“Well you take up a whole lot of space when you sleep, kiddo” Oliver chuckled, running his fingers through Roy’s hair. “You spread out like a starfish.”

Roy hummed against his father’s thigh, and Oliver kept playing with his hair. It was something Roy had loved when he was small, and though he didn’t ask for it anymore, Oliver knew he still loved having his hair played with. He didn’t get the opportunity to snuggle with the boy much anymore, since he was getting into his tween years, so he’d take anything he could get.

It didn’t take long for Roy’s breath to even out, and Oliver carefully slid out from his hold. He snuggled himself further into the blankets as Ollie and Dinah headed out into the hall, shutting the door behind them.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we're jumping back to when Tim is around 6 here, and he's a stressed little guy. I feel his anxiety started young, possibly due to Jack not being as involved with Tim, but also losing his mother is a lot to handle. I also can't remember the last time I had a chapter that was just one continuous scene. Jack is also really trying, but he just doesn't know how to do this. He struggles between what he was taught growing up (i.e. boys don't cry, suck it up, be a big boy) and Janet's parenting which was to love and hug and comfort whenever Tim needed it.

“Daddy?” Tim asked as he walked through the halls of the house. He’d had a nightmare, and he wanted to seek out his father for comfort. The light in the office was on, and he poked his head in, saw his dad sitting at the desk, his tie undone, running a hand through his hair.

“Daddy?” He asked again, and Jack slowly raised his eyes to look at his son. His eyes were bloodshot, and the bags under his eyes were dark.

“Tim, why aren’t you in bed?” Jack asked. He was sure the nanny put him in bed hours ago before she retired to her own room.

“I had a bad dream,” Tim said, rubbing his eye. He didn’t walk in, knew to wait for permission.

“It was just a dream, Tim, go back to sleep,” Jack mumbled, looking back down at his desk. Tim stayed in the doorway, blinking at his father. Momma always tucked him in when he had a bad dream.

Especially when he had an accident.

“But daddy,” Tim mumbled, looking down at his feet. He had changed into different pajamas, but he still needed help changing the sheets on his bed. “I need help.”

“With what, Tim?” Jack asked, not looking up from his papers. Tim felt his face heat up, Momma always just knew the difference between a bad dream and a _really_ bad dream. He never had to say it before.

“I had an accident,” Tim mumbled, and Jack looked up, furrowing his brows. “I need help.”

“Tim, you’re too old to be doing this,” Jack said, getting up from his desk. Tim reached up, but Jack didn’t lift him up. He followed his father back to his bedroom, stayed in the doorway when he turned on the light.

“I didn’t mean to,” Tim said finally, watching Jack as he started to strip the bed. “I had a bad dream.”

“I have bad dreams almost every night, this doesn’t happen to me,” Jack shook his head as he tossed sheets in a pile on the floor.

“I’m sorry, Daddy,” Tim said, tears welling in his eyes.

“Don’t cry, Tim,” Jack sighed, pausing what he was doing. “You’re a big boy.”

“I had a dream about Momma,” Tim blurted out, his tears spilling over as Jack looked up at him, watching his son sob in the doorway.

“Well, the mattress is wet,” Jack sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Why don’t you come sleep with me tonight?”

Tim sniffled, nodded, and held his arms up. Jack quickly scooped the boy up this time, carrying him down the hall to the master bedroom while he cried silently into his shoulder.

“Daddy, I’m sorry,” He cried, and Jack wanted to kick himself. He’d had a drink or two, and he was feeling a bit more sobered up after seeing his son cry. He was also incredibly exhausted and trying to settle Janet’s death was taking a lot more work than he thought it would.

“No, Tim, I’m sorry,” Jack said, sitting on the edge of his bed. “I know you didn’t mean to. It was just an accident. Don’t cry, I’m here.”

“I want Momma,” Tim cried as Jack started to rock him.

“I know, I want Momma too,” Jack nodded. It had been six months now without her, and taking care of Tim didn’t get any easier. “You want to talk about your dream?”

Tim shook his head, hiccupping a sob into his father’s shoulder.

“Okay, let’s lay down here, okay?” Jack asked, resting Tim down on the bed on Janet’s side. “I’m going to get ready for bed.”

Tim snuggled into the blankets, resting back on his mother’s pillow.

“I’m sorry you have bad dreams, Daddy,” he mumbled. Jack paused as he opened his dresser drawer, pursing his lips. “Momma used to tell me that it helps to talk about them.”

Tim wouldn’t understand his nightmares, making the decision to take Janet off of life support, listening to the doctor tell them surgery wasn’t an option, holding the love of his life’s hand as her heart monitor flatlined.

“Just things about Momma,” Jack said, undoing his belt and letting his slacks fall to the floor.

“I dreamed about Momma too,” Tim mumbled again. “I dreamed about the last time I saw her.”

“Dreamt, Tim,” Jack corrected, and he could see the boy nod out of the corner of his eye.

“I dreamt about the last time I saw her,” Tim corrected. “I didn’t want to leave her.”

“I know, Tim,” Jack nodded, sliding out of his shirt. “I didn’t want you to leave her either.”

“Daddy, why do I have bad dreams?” Tim asked, and Jack couldn’t help but smile at his son’s curiosity. He was incredibly smart for his age, but still held tight to his curiosity for things he didn’t understand.

“The same reason you have good dreams,” Jack said, getting into his silk pajamas. “When you sleep, your brain is still thinking. And it makes dreams. Sometimes you think about good things, sometimes you think about bad things.”

“But then how come it’s only sometimes that I-“ Tim paused, looking down at the blankets. “How come sometimes they’re _really_ bad dreams?”

Jack sighed.

Janet was so much better at this.

“Usually when you have a _really_ bad dream, that’s called a night terror,” Jack said, sitting down on his side of the bed. “And that means that you’re really, really asleep and your brain has a harder time waking up and getting the signals it normally would to wake you up.”

“Like when I have to go potty?” Tim asked, tilting his head, and Jack nodded.

“Yes,” He said, and Tim nodded, seemed satisfied with that answer. “Your mother was so much better at this.”

“At what, Daddy?”

“At taking care of you,” Jack let out a chuckle. “She always would come back to bed and tell me you had a nightmare, I guess I just didn’t know they got this bad sometimes.”

It was his fault, he knew somehow it had to be. It couldn’t have been Janet’s, those night terrors, she was the best mother for their little boy. He wasn’t there enough.

“Tim, how did Momma make you feel better after a nightmare?” Jack asked, and Tim tilted his head in thought, trying to remember. Jack couldn’t remember the last time Tim had snuck into their room in the middle of the night, he usually slept through it. He also didn’t know if it happened since Janet was in the hospital.

“Momma used to tell me a happy story,” Tim said. “And sing a song.”

“Well, I don’t have a voice like Momma’s,” Jack shook his head. “But I can tell you a story, if you’d like.”

“Can you tell me a story about Momma?” Tim asked, and Jack smiled, reclining back on the bed. Tim scooted closer, leaning into his side.

“Hm, let me think,” He said, pursing his lips. “Well, how about the story of when we found out she was going to have you?”

Tim nodded, leaning his head on Jack’s torso.

“You mom and I were traveling in Italy for our fifth anniversary, and we were in this beautiful old village. And we had planned to go out horseback riding that day, but Momma didn’t feel good. She thought maybe she had eaten something bad,” Jack said, remembering their anniversary fondly. Janet was certain it was the dinner from the night before, and he spent the day catering to her in bed, bringing her water and crackers and holding her hair back. “Well after a few days, we were supposed to go to another village, but Momma still didn’t feel good, so we went to a doctor in town. And we found out that she was going to have a baby. You know who that baby was?”

“Me?” Tim giggled, and Jack wrapped his arm around the boy.

“That’s right. Momma was so excited to have you,” Jack said, also remembering his wife’s shocked face. They hadn’t been trying for children, hadn’t really planned for them yet, they weren’t that old, but it was a welcome surprise. She had cried she was so happy. “She told _everyone_ that we met. Before we even told her parents or my parents, she was telling the inn keepers and the people in the restaurants and shops. She was so excited to have you, Tim. Do you feel better?”

Tim paused to think, then nodded.

“Think we can get some sleep without any more nightmares?” Jack asked, and again Tim nodded. “I didn’t do so bad, right?”

“It was a good story, Daddy,” Tim said with a smile. “Momma would say so, too.”

“Oh, would she now?” Jack asked with a smile. He knew for a fact she was actually incredibly embarrassed by that story, but he had found his wife so adorable in those days that it was one of his favorite stories to tell.

“Yeah, you’re doing a good job, Daddy,” Tim said, settling down against Janet’s pillow.

“I’m trying as hard as I can,” Jack said as he turned off the light, but he knew he’d have to try harder to come close to his wife.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love tiny Roy. And mother son dances I have been to are mostly just all the boys bouncing around with their friends, but they're showing moms all their dance moves and I feel like it'd be an experience Roy wouldn't want to miss.

Roy had stormed home from school, went right upstairs and slammed the door to his bedroom.

Dinah had heard him, poked her head out of Oliver’s office. He wasn’t home yet, but she had a show coming up and she needed it to do some work for it.

She headed down the hall, knocked gently on the door.

“Roy? Is everything okay?” She asked, and the response was the radio being turned on too loud for her to be heard.

She sighed.

Tweens.

The best she could do was go order a pizza and hope his stomach would lure him out.

* * *

 

“Hello, Beautiful,” Oliver said when he came home, giving Dinah a kiss on the cheek since she was eating pizza out of the box in the kitchen. “Pizza?”

“I’m trying to get Roy out of his room,” She sighed, looking down at the pizza she’d already eaten two pieces from. “He hasn’t come out since he got home.”

“He’s at that age, Di, he’s going to be in his room a lot,” Oliver shrugged.

“No, I think something happened at school,” Dinah shook her head. “He wouldn’t tell me what it was. Slammed the door and turned up the music. I was hoping he’d get hungry.”

“Let me go see if I can get him out,” Oliver said, setting his jacket and briefcase on the counter before heading for the foyer and the stairs. Dinah was following him, her socked feet not making a sound. The music from Roy’s radio got louder as they got closer, and he didn’t know how his son wasn’t deaf. “Roy?” He asked, knocking on the door softly.

The door didn’t open.

“Roy William Harper, turn that down!” Oliver shouted, pounding a few times on the door. The music did go down a little, not much, but enough to notice. “Come out here, please.”

“Leave me alone!” Roy called, and Oliver growled, trying the door. It was locked, but he wasn’t dumb. He reached for the key on top of the door, unlocking it.

“Stay here for a second,” He told his fiancé. He pushed the door open, saw Roy jump on his bed. He wasn’t doing what Oliver had originally thought he was doing, which was good. Oliver stormed over to the stereo, turning it off, despite Roy’s protests.

“I was listening to that!” Roy exclaimed, scowling at his father.

“What’s with the attitude, young man?” Oliver asked, crossing his arms.

“What attitude?” Roy sneered.

“That one right there,” Oliver said, pointing to him. “Dinah said you haven’t come out of your room all day.”

“Well maybe Dinah should mind her own damn business,” Roy snapped, and Oliver reached out to grab his arm.

“Hey, I don’t want to hear that language from you. And you better apologize, Dinah was worried about you,” Oliver scowled. “You in the mood to be grounded?”

“Go ahead and ground me, I don’t care,” Roy grumbled, yanking his arm back and flopping into his pillow.

“Fine, you’re grounded,” Oliver said, reaching out to unplug the stereo and turn off the light. He left Roy in the dark, meeting Dinah again the hallway. “I’m sorry for what he said.”

“He’s got something going on,” Dinah shrugged. “Let’s go finish eating.”

* * *

 

Oliver was just about to turn off the television around midnight, Dinah asleep against his shoulder, when he heard the padding of his son’s bare feet. He turned to look at where he stopped beside the couch, in his pajamas and blinking owlishly.

“Yes?” Oliver asked expectantly.

“’m sorry for what I said,” Roy mumbled, scrambling up onto the couch to sit beside his father, pulling his knees up to his chest.

“And?”

“And I’m sorry for yelling,” Roy whispered.

“What’s going on, kiddo? What’re you doing up so late?” Oliver asked, resting his free hand on Roy’s head, gently petting his hair.

“Next week there’s a dance at school,” Roy mumbled.

“Okay,” Olive nodded. “You can go if you want.”

“I don’t want to,” Roy said, and Oliver could hear his breath hitching a little, his eyes started to water.

“Hey, Speedy, what’s wrong?” He asked, and Roy sniffled, wiping at his eyes. “I can’t fix it if you don’t tell me.”

“It’s a mother-son dance. Everyone is going with their moms,” Roy said, sucking in a breath. Oliver hadn’t seen him cry in quite a long time, he’d never been a particularly sensitive boy, but when it came to that specific subject, it always hit a nerve.

“Well, why don’t you have Jason over instead? You boys can have a sleepover,” Oliver suggested, knowing that was one thing the boys unfortunately had in common, being motherless.

“Jason is going to Germany with his family,” Roy mumbled.

“Alright, Kiddo, come here,” Oliver held out an arm, and Roy cuddled into his side. “What’s going on in that brain of yours?”

“It’s not fair,” Roy cried. “I don’t even have a grandma to take me.”

“I know, Speedy. It’s not fair. But you and me, we’ll go out and do something that night, just you and I,” Oliver suggested. “How does that sound?”

Roy nodded.

“Come on, Sweetheart, let’s get you up to bed,” Oliver gently shook Dinah until she was sitting up, scooping Roy up into his arms. “I’ll meet you upstairs.” He told her.

He didn’t say anything until they got up to the bedroom, settling Roy into his bed and sitting with him.

“What can I do, Roy?” He asked, brushing some of his hair back. Roy shrugged, drying the last of his tears. “Get some sleep, okay? We’ll talk about it in the morning.”

Roy nodded, accepting a kiss on his forehead. Oliver shut the light off as he left, finding Dinah waiting for him in the hall.

“Is he okay?” She asked, following Oliver towards their bedroom.

“There’s a mother son dance at school next week, he’s kind of upset about it,” Oliver shrugged. “I told him we’d go do something just the two of us instead.”

“I could take him,” Dinah said, and Oliver paused. He hadn’t actually thought of that. “It might be a good chance for us to get to know each other better.”

“Let’s run it by him in the morning,” Oliver nodded, leaning in to give her a kiss.

* * *

 

Roy came down the next morning still in his pajamas and half asleep. Oliver had gotten him a bowl of cereal, just about the only thing he could make himself, that was waiting on the kitchen counter.

“Good morning, Kiddo,” Oliver said, looking up from the newspaper he had been glancing over. “Sleep okay?”

Roy shrugged. Oliver nodded at Dinah, who was nursing a mug of coffee.

“Hey, Roy, your dad and I were talking last night and I was thinking,” She said, taking the bar stool next to the boy. “Why don’t I take you to that dance at your school?”

Roy turned to look at her, his big, blue eyes the mirror of Oliver’s.

“Really?”

“Well sure,” She said, setting her coffee down. “I know I’m not your mom, but pretty soon your dad and I will be married, and I thought it was something fun you and I could do together. How’s that sound?”

“Thank you!” Roy shouted, dropping his spoon to the counter and leaning over to throw his arms around Dinah. “Thank you, Dinah.”

“You’re welcome, Honey,” She said, smiling at Oliver over his head. “Go ahead and get dressed, I’ll take you to school.”

“Okay!” Roy hopped off of the bar stool, sprinting out into the hall towards the stairs.

“No running in the house!” Oliver shouted after him, knew Roy heard but ignored him if the stomping on the steps was any indication. “Thank you, Di.”

“I’m happy to do it,” Dinah nodded. “After all, in a few months, he’ll be my step son. I want to be close with him.”

“For so long it was just me and my little guy, it means a lot that you want to be in our lives,” Oliver said, and Dinah strode over to him, sitting in his lap at the table. “Usually women I brought home got scared off by him.”

“Takes a lot more than a little face full of freckles to scare me, Queen,” Dinah laughed. “He’s a good boy. He’s got a good daddy.”

“Sweet of you to think so,” Oliver leaned up to give her a kiss.

“Ew!”

The two parted, saw Roy standing in the doorway, now dressed, but covering his eyes.

“One day when you have a girlfriend, remember that you think kissing is gross,” Oliver said, raising a brow at the boy. Roy rolled his eyes, running off to grab his backpack.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted something with Dick being a good big brother and Jason being Jason. Also, Bruce is tall, and neither boy has hit their growth spurt yet so you can bet that he's going to carry them when he can.

Gym class was Dick and Wally’s favorite that they shared together.

Wally liked to run, so running the mile wasn’t a challenge. He was the fastest kid in their class.

Dick wasn’t fast, but he’d kept up his stamina and strength from the circus. After the first time Bruce found him climbing library shelves to get to the chandelier, he’d had a gym put in full of proper climbing equipment.

So Dick enjoyed the gymnastics. He and Wally would snicker when the girls in class did cartwheels and thought it was impressive. He’d shown them a no handed cartwheel and after that Katherine Spencer asked him to be her boyfriend as sit with her at lunch. He agreed only if Wally could sit with them.

“So are we on for movie night?” Wally asked, stretching an arm behind his head. They had both already run the mile, were waiting for the rest of their class to catch up. Dick was upside down in a handstand, giving his legs a break and putting the work on his arms.

“Yeah, we just got Freddy vs. Jason and Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” Dick said, bending back until his feet were touching the track, keeping himself up in a bridge, shirt riding up over his stomach. “Roy and Jason want to watch too.”

“Cool,” Wally nodded, lacing his fingers and stretching his arms up high as they could go. “Will Alfred make that popcorn?”

“Probably,” Dick shrugged. Well shrugged as best he could. He pushed himself up until he was standing upright again, rolling his shoulders.

“West, Grayson,” The teacher called, and both boys turned, standing to attention. “Can you two run this to the office for me?”

He pulled a manila envelope out of his bag, passing it to the taller of the two.

“Just behave, please.”

“Okay,” Dick nodded, heading towards the school with his friend on his heels.

It wasn’t unusual for Dick and Wally to be asked to do things for teachers, they were responsible and charming. Something about Dick’s smile made classmates and adults alike love him.

“Hey, so Kathy was telling me she heard that Connie Noleski likes you,” Dick said as they strode through the halls. “You should ask her to the formal.”

“Connie?” Wally asked. “Eh, maybe.”

Connie was in their gym class, always taking up the back of the pack when running. She had asthma pretty bad.

“Are you going to take Kathy?” Wally asked, holding open the door of the main office for his friend.

“I think so,” Dick nodded, started towards the secretary’s desk but paused when he saw Jason and Roy sitting in the chairs, Roy with a fat lip and Jason with a black eye. “Jason? What happened?”

“None of your business,” Jason snapped, and Roy eyed the two.

“Bruce is gonna be mad if you got in another fight,” Dick said, ignoring his brother’s outburst. “He said you were gonna be grounded if you did it again.”

“Shut up, Dick,” Jason glared at him, crossing his arms.

“Can I help you boys?” The secretary asked, catching Wally and Dick’s attention.

“This is from Mr. Powers, he asked us to bring it down,” Wally passed her the envelope over the counter, and she flashed him a smile.

“Thank you, Mr. West,” She said. “Mr. Grayson, is your father out of town?”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Dick nodded. “He had to go to Metropolis today for work. Our butler is home.”

“Very well, I’ll try reaching him then,” She nodded.

“Thanks a lot, Dick,” Jason grumbled. The four boys looked up when the office door opened and Oliver Queen came striding in, still dressed for work.

“Hi, Mr. Queen,” Dick and Wally chirped, and Ollie smiled down at them before turning a hard look at his son.

“Thank you for coming, Mr. Queen,” The secretary said. “It’s just for the rest of the day; he can come back to school tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” Oliver nodded, not taking his eyes off of Roy.

“It wasn’t my fault, he pushed me first,” Roy said, his bottom lip quivering. Wally and Dick snickered a little behind Oliver’s back, they had seen that act before.

“I know,” Oliver sighed. “Come on, we’ll talk about it in the car.”

“Can Roy still come over tonight, Mr. Queen?” Dick asked, and Oliver smiled at him.

“Yes, I already told him he could,” He said, putting a hand on Roy’s back and leading him out to the hall.

That left Jason scowling at the floor, his arms crossed.

“Wally, you can go, I’ll catch up,” Dick said, and his friend nodded. Dick went and took the seat Roy had vacated. “What happened?”

“Go away,” Jason mumbled.

“Fine, I’ll just tell Bruce,” Dick shrugged, about to get up, but Jason grabbed the back of his shirt.

“We had an English project, we had to write something about our mom for mother’s day,” Jason mumbled. “And the teacher gave me and Roy a different assignment. But during lunch, Brent Davis and Jackson Hubble were making fun of us for having to do something different. Jackson pushed Roy and then we all got into a fight,” Jason explained, his voice going watery. Dick had known Jason enough to know he cried when he was mad, even though he tried not to. “They both got suspended for a few days, but Roy and I only got suspended the rest of the day.”

“I remember that project,” Dick scowled. He’d just lost his parents, so he hadn’t said anything, still wrote a story about his mother.

Jason sniffled, wiped discretely at his eye.

“I’m sure Bruce won’t be too mad,” Dick mumbled.

“I don’t care if Bruce is mad,” Jason whispered.

“Are you okay?” Dick asked, and Jason turned to him, eyes wide. They were still kind of glassy, and Dick felt bad. Jason didn’t like crying at school or in front of everyone.

“’m fine,” Jason said, sniffling again.

“Ms. Laura?” Dick asked, and the secretary turned to him. “Jason has to go to the bathroom, can I walk him there?”

“Sure, just hurry,” She nodded, giving Dick a smile. “Your butler will be here soon.”

“Come on, Jay,” Dick took his hand, pulling him from his seat. The bathrooms were around the corner, and everyone was still in class so they were empty. “Let me see your eye.”

Jason’s breath was hitching, tears started forming more in his eyes as Dick ran a paper towel under cold water and wrung it out.

“Don’t cry Jay,” He said, dabbing at the bruise with the cold, damp towel. Jason flinched away a little, his skin still tender. “I’ll help you with your homework if you want.”

Jason nodded, his lips still in a pout.

“I won’t tell Bruce, I promise,” Dick mumbled, holding the cold towel on his face. “He won’t be that mad.”

“I want to go home,” Jason hiccupped.

“I know, Alfred is coming to get you,” Dick nodded. “Here, hold this here. Alfred will give you an ice pack when you get home. And now it just looks like your face is wet ‘cause of the towel.”

Jason sniffled, gave Dick a weak smile.

“I have to go back to class,” Dick said as they left the restroom. “Do you want me to stay until Alfred gets here?”

The question was answered, however, because when they walked back into the office, Alfred was standing there waiting.

“Master Dick, I didn’t expect to see you in the office,” Alfred said, raising a brow.

“I had to deliver something for a teacher and then I got Jason a cold towel for his eye,” Dick explained, and Jason slowly lowered the towel so Alfred could see.

“My my,” he mumbled. “Very well. Come along, Master Jason. You should be getting back to class, young man.”

“I will. I’ll see you after school, Alfie,” Dick waved. “Bye Jayce.”

Jason gave him a small wave as he hurried back towards the track.

* * *

 

Bruce got home around dinner time, and Dick and Wally were just hurrying down the stairs since Alfred had called them all.

“Bruce!” Dick said, running towards the front door, throwing his arms around the man’s torso.

“Hey, Chum,” He said, brushing some of his dark hair back. “How was school?”

“Don’t be mad at Jason, it wasn’t his fault,” Dick said, and Bruce nodded. He’d gotten a call from the school and Alfred, though he’d missed them both and gotten the messages later.

“It wasn’t, huh?” Bruce asked, and Wally shrugged.

“Two boys were making fun of him and Roy for not having moms,” Dick mumbled, and Bruce furrowed his brows. “It’s not his fault.”

It was then that Jason and Roy were coming down the stairs, steps slowed as they saw who was at the front door.

“Chum, why don’t you take Wally and Roy to the dining room? I want to have a talk with Jason,” He said, and Dick nodded, turning to lead his friends out of the foyer, and leaving Jason standing on the stairs, fearful.

Bruce toed off his shoes, took off his jacket, and set down his briefcase before heading over to the stairs and sitting down.

“Come sit with me, son,” Bruce said, and Jason did, sitting on the step beside him. “You want to tell me what happened at school today?”

“I got in a fight,” Jason mumbled, crossing his arms.

“I see that,” Bruce nodded. “What happened?”

Jason pouted, his eyes watering. He opened his mouth to start taking, taking in a few short breaths.

“Hey, don’t start,” Bruce said, putting a hand on his back. “Don’t work yourself up. It’s all over, nothing to cry about now.”

“The boys at school were making fun of me and Roy because we can’t do the mother’s day project for English. One of them pushed Roy first,” Jason said, rubbing at his eye.

“Okay,” Bruce nodded. “Jason, we’ve talked about not resorting to violence.”

“I’m sorry,” Jason mumbled.

“They’re just words, Jason,” Bruce said, and Jason nodded. “Nothing they said changes anything.”

“I know,” the boy sighed.

“And no matter what they say, your mother loved you,” Bruce added, and Jason sniffled. “And you love your mother.”

“I do,” Jason whispered.

“Come on, Son,” Bruce said, scooping Jason up into his arms. He stiffened for a moment before wrapping his arms around Bruce’s neck. “Do you feel better?”

Jason nodded against his shoulder.

“Alright. Let’s go have dinner,” Bruce said, rocking a little before heading for the dining room.

* * *

 

“Dick?” Jason whispered as he pushed open the door to his older brother’s room. Bruce had seen the movies the boys wanted to watch and told them he thought they might be a little too scary.

No way was he going to crawl into Bruce’s room and let him be right.

He’d had a nightmare about being chased with a chainsaw, woke up sweating, panting. Roy was still asleep, though, and he really just needed to see someone.

“Dick?” He asked again, tiptoeing over to the bed and shaking his older brother, trying not to wake up Wally. The redhead was snoring, and he slept like a rock, but still. “Dick, I had a bad dream.”

Dick stirred, blinking a rubbing his eyes as he sat up, adjusting to the dark.

“Jayce?”

“I had a nightmare,” Jason repeated. Dick swung his legs out from the bed, glancing back at Wally before getting up. He led the younger out to the hall, shutting the door carefully behind him.

“Let’s go get some cookies,” Dick said, leading the way towards the stairs. “What was your dream about?”

“I was getting chased by someone with a chainsaw through the woods,” Jason mumbled, avoiding the squeaky step as they headed down the stairs.

“It was just a dream,” Dick said, flicking on the kitchen light. He headed over to the cookie jar and pulled out a handful, bringing them over to set on the counter and hoist himself up onto the barstool. Jason followed suit, flopping into the seat. “Are you okay?”

“I think so,” Jason shrugged, picking up a cookie. “’m sorry I woke you up.”

“How’s your eye?” Dick asked, and Jason reached up to touch it, hissing when it ached.

“Still hurts,” He mumbled. “Dick?”

“Hm?”

“Can you help me write my story about my mom?” He asked, and Dick nodded, passing him another cookie.

* * *

 

“This is good, Jason,” Dick said, reading over the story he’d written. It chronicled a Christmas when Jason was just a little boy, talking about his mom making them dinner even though their power was out, using the gas stove. And she had given him a book, which he still had. Then they sat in the living room with candles and made shadow puppets.

“Really?” Jason asked, taking the notebook paper back.

“Yeah,” Dick nodded. “Go ahead and read it for me, like you would in class.”

Jason got up from the couch where they had been working, standing in front of the coffee table, still in his pajamas and socked feet.

“When I was six, our power went out the week of Christmas,” Jason began. “But we had a gas stove, so my mom cooked us some noodles that we ate in the candlelight. I didn’t think I’d get any presents that year because my mom said Santa couldn’t make it to our house, but then she gave me a book called Alexander and the Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. I still have that book. After that, she and I made shadow puppets in the living room in the candlelight, and when we were done, we slept on the floor in the living room where it was warm. I tell this story because it was the last Christmas my mom remembered, before she was really sick.”

Jason paused, pursing his lips.

“Before she started taking drugs and drinking,” He mumbled. “Every year after that, she forgot about Christmas and I was by myself.”

Dick only had a moment to process the end of the story and think about how that wasn’t written on the page before Jason’s breath was hitching, and he was letting out sob after sob. He dropped his paper, bringing his hands up to grab at his biceps, tears streaming down his face.

“Jayce,” Dick sprung from his seat, getting his face as close to Jason’s as he could, cupping his face. “Shh, we don’t want to wake up Bruce. You’re okay, you’re okay.”

Jason’s crying didn’t stop, if anything he was crying harder.

“You’re going to make yourself sick, Jayce,” Dick warned, trying to calm the younger boy. He’d seen it enough, heard Jason after a nightmare throwing up in his bathroom or all over his bed.

“Boys?”

Dick turned, saw Bruce in his pajamas in the doorway.

“What happened? What’s wrong?” He asked, rushing into the room, kneeling down beside the boys. “Breathe, Kiddo, I need you to take deep breaths.”

Bruce scooped him up sitting with him in his lap on the couch. Dick stood beside him, still getting in Jason’s face.

“You’re okay,” Bruce said, rocking gently. “Dick, what happened?”

“Jason woke me up because he had a bad dream, and then he asked me if I could help him with his English project for Mother’s Day, and he was reading it and he started crying, I’m sorry, I didn’t know he’d get so upset-“

“Shh,” Bruce said, patting his oldest on the shoulder. “I don’t need you panicking too. Jason, bud, I need you to take some deep breaths. Breathe with me, okay?”

Jason nodded, his hiccupped sobs interrupting his deep breaths a little, but for the most part he was breathing in with Bruce, letting Dick and Bruce’s hands soothe down his back.

“That’s it,” Bruce encouraged. “Good job. Just keep breathing for me, okay? We don’t want you to get sick.”

“I’m sorry, Jason, are you okay?” Dick asked, putting his forehead on Jason’s. The younger nodded, still trying to take deep breaths.

“Chum, will you go get him a glass of water?” Bruce asked, and Dick nodded, running out of the room, his socked feet silent. “What’s wrong, bud? Can you tell me?”

“I got upset thinking about my mom,” Jason mumbled.

“Is that all?” Bruce asked, and Jason shrugged. “I think you’ve had quite a bit upsetting you the last day or so. Just built up, huh?”

“I guess,” Jason said, wiping his eyes.

“Here, Jayce,” Dick said, rushing back in with a glass and handing it to his little brother. “Are you okay now?”

Jason nodded, taking a sip of his water.

“Why don’t we go lay down up in my bed?” Bruce asked, and Jason nodded again. Bruce hoisted him up, letting Dick take the glass of water. The trio headed back upstairs, into the master bedroom.

Bruce put Jason on one side while Dick climbed up on the other, each of them flocking Bruce.

“Can you ask my teacher to let me not read my paper in class?” Jason asked, curling up against Bruce’s side.

“Sure,” Bruce nodded, wrapping an arm around each boy. It wasn’t often that Dick came crawling into his bed anymore, and though Jason did sometimes, he was still going through a hard time. He didn’t know how much longer his boys would let him cuddle with them.

He was going to enjoy it while it lasted, even if it wasn’t under the best of circumstances


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not everything is happy and fluffy all the time. Also, I wanted to write about Tim finding Dana and Jack together, but every time I did, I hated it. So instead, we see her introduced here. I think they had a very short relationship prior to engagement.   
> For reference Wally and Dick are 12, Jason and Roy are 10, and Tim is seven.

The Gotham Academy Holiday Ball was always a lovely affair. All the students would be dressed to the nines, excited to see all their classmates in something other than school uniforms for once. The parents would mill about, the mothers in fancy gowns, the fathers in tuxedos.

Bruce was chatting with Oliver and Dinah, not keeping an eye on his sons who were usually well behaved.

Though he probably didn’t expect his oldest to be under the hors d'oeuvres table with Kathy Spencer.

She had found him while he was talking to Wally by the beverages, and Connie had taken him aside, asking him to dance with her. Meanwhile, Kathy said she wanted to show Dick something, and before he could ask what she wanted to show him that was under a table, he was being kissed.

Her lips were kinda slippery, she was wearing a shiny lip gloss, and her breath smelled like the peppermint candies on all the tables. She was wearing a dress that was a black velvet on top, and the poofy red skirt made a little bit of noise when she moved, but there was more than enough party noise to cover it.

They’d shared little kissed before, stolen when the lunch room monitors weren’t watching, or when they met at their lockers before and after school, but they’d never French kissed before.

Wally had told Dick about it, said he and Connie did it once when they both planned to take a bathroom break from class at the same time, meeting by their lockers and sharing a kiss that Wally said was really fun.

He wasn’t wrong, Dick could concur.

“I have to get back to my parents,” Kathy whispered as she pulled back, and Dick nodded before leaning in to kiss just a little bit longer.

It felt really nice. It made his stomach flutter, made him feel warm all over.

“Maybe we can do this more later?” He asked, and Kathy giggled.

“I’d like that,” She said. “Stay here so they don’t see us leave together.”

And with that, she was sticking her head out on the side that faced the wall and crawling out, brushing off her skirt.

Dick stayed under the table for a minute, smiling to himself until a hand appeared through the table cloth and grabbed him, yanking him out by his jacket.

Wally.

“Come on,” Wally said, pulling him towards the entry hall where there were less people. “I saw Kathy climb out from under that table.”

“Uh huh,” Dick nodded, not able to keep the smile from his face.

“You’ve got her lip gloss all over your face,” Wally said, and Dick looked around before grabbing his friend and pulling him towards the restrooms.

“It was so awesome,” Dick said as he pushed the door open.

“What was awesome?”

The two looked over at the sinks where Jason and Roy were, looking like they were trying to get a stain out of Roy’s white shirt.

“Nothing, scram,” Dick said, scowling at them.

“No,” Jason rolled his eyes, handing Roy a paper towel. “You’re not the boss of me.”

“I’m older, so yes I am,” Dick crossed his arms, and Jason mirrored the position. “Wally and I are talking about something.”

“So talk,” Jason shrugged.

“It’s grown up stuff, Jason,” Dick insisted, glaring at the boys. “You can’t listen.”

“You’re not that grown up,” Jason argued.

“Let’s just go talk somewhere else, Dick,” Wally suggested, and Dick nodded, following his friend out of the restroom. They were only through the hallway, however, when he heard Jason and Roy’s shoes clicking on the floor behind them.

“Leave us alone,” Dick said over his shoulder as they stormed into the ballroom. There was a quiet sitting room on the other side that they might be able to sneak into.

“You don’t own the whole building, Dick,” Jason said, in the way that Dick knew it wasn’t just his name. “I can be wherever I want.”

“Well it’s a secret that you can’t hear,” Dick growled, turning around to face the boys. “So you and Roy go somewhere else, stop following us.”

“You’re not the boss of me!” Jason yelled, and Dick reached out to push him back a bit, trying to keep the younger boys at bay.

Jason pushed right back.

“Hey, guys!” Wally shouted over their yelling and growling, but he went unheard.

“Guys, stop!” Roy said, but like Wally, he was ignored. People were staring now, since the two Wayne boys were on the ground fighting. Wally reached forward and grabbed Roy, rushing off to find parents.

“Mr. Wayne, sir,” Wally said, making sure Roy didn’t trip when they stopped abruptly. “Dick and Jason are fighting.”

“What?” Bruce asked, exchanging a glance with Oliver before they both ran off towards where a small crowd was gathering. Wally and Roy followed, ignoring Dinah’s calls to stay by her. When they got back, some of their classmates were watching, including Kathy and Connie.

“Boys, knock it off,” Bruce said, grabbing Dick by the back of the collar and hoisting him to his feet. The older lunged forward again, so Bruce wrapped his arms around the boy’s shoulders, keeping him in place. Oliver, on the other hand, knelt down and pulled Jason back until he was sitting, scowling at his older brother.

“What is going on here?” Bruce asked, and both boys started yelling at the same time. “Okay, enough. Oliver, will you keep an eye on Jason?”

“Of course,” Oliver nodded, helping the boy to his feet. Jason jerked his arm away, straightening his jacket.

“I’ll be back to talk to you in a minute,” Bruce said, leading Dick out towards the hallway, trying to ignore all the stares. Dick flopped down on one of the benches, shoving his hands between his knees and looking down at the floor.

“Richard Jonathan Grayson, explain to me what just happened,” Bruce said, crossing his arms. He glanced back at the part where he could see Wally talking to two young ladies, one of whom looked incredibly concerned. He could also see Oliver with his arms crossed as Jason and Roy talked, probably explaining the situation.

“Jason and Roy wouldn’t leave me and Wally alone, they kept following us,” Dick said, scowling at the floor.

“You four are inseparable usually, what’s different?” Bruce asked, furrowing his brows.

“Wally and I wanted to talk about something,” Dick shrugged.

“And what was it that you couldn’t include Jason and Roy?”

Dick’s face heated up. Bruce glanced back at the two girls with Wally.

“Does it possibly have something to do with that young lady in the black and red dress?” Bruce asked, nodding towards the ballroom. Dick sat up straight, his face still red as he looked.

“How did you know?” He asked.

“Call it a hunch,” Bruce shrugged. “I’m still not hearing an explanation, young man.”

“Kathy and I kissed and I didn’t want to talk about it in front of Roy and Jason. They’re little,” Dick said, and Bruce nodded. He let his arms fall, sat down on the bench beside the boy.

“They’re not much younger than you, Dick,” Bruce said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me about Kathy?”

Dick shrugged.

“Well, how about we invite her and her parents over for dinner sometime? When you’re done being grounded?”

“I’m grounded?” Dick asked, looking up at him with wide eyes.

“Oh, absolutely,” Bruce nodded. “Why don’t you go spend some time with Wally and Kathy, you won’t be seeing either of them outside of school for about a week.”

“Okay,” Dick sighed, getting up from his seat.

“And easy on the kissing, Chum,” Bruce pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket, rubbing it over Dick’s lips and chin. “You’ve got lip gloss all over your face.”

Dick smiled sheepishly before nodding and running off towards the ballroom. Bruce stayed where he was, watched as Oliver nudged Jason towards the hallway and the boy timidly walked out and took the seat Dick had vacated.

“Dick told me what happened,” Bruce said, smoothing the boy’s hair back. “Listen, sometimes, you need to give him some space.”

“You’re taking his side?”

“I’m not taking anyone’s side,” Bruce shook his head. “But Dick’s getting to an age that he might want to spend more time with Wally and kids his age. If he wants to be left alone, sometimes you have to let him, okay?”

“Fine,” Jason grumbled.

“If it makes you feel better, I’m grounding you both equally,” Bruce said, forcing a smile as Jason sputtered.

“Why am I grounded, he started it,” Jason said, and Bruce chuckled.

“Because I don’t want the two of you fighting,” He said. “You’re brothers. And this week you two will have plenty of quality time together. Go have fun while you can, okay?”

“Alright,” Jason sighed, getting up from the bench and heading back to join Roy where he was standing with Dinah. He passed Oliver on the way, who was followed by Rudolph West, and the redhead was carrying two champagne flutes.

“Thought you might need this,” Rudy said, and each man sat on either side of Bruce on the bench.

“You ever think you’d be raising two boys, Wayne?” Oliver asked, taking a sip of his own champagne.

“I didn’t think I’d ever raise children at all,” Bruce scoffed. “Quite the handful. You two are lucky with just one.”

“I’ll trade,” Oliver scoffed. “Roy’s enough work for two kids sometimes.”

“They’re good boys, usually,” Bruce shrugged. “Guess it happens, siblings fight.”

“See his little girlfriend there?” Rudy asked, pointing at the four preteens. There was a little girl with black hair in the fancy dress who was holding onto Dick’s arm, and another blond girl in a purple dress who was holding hands with Wally.

“And so it begins,” Bruce nodded.

“I’ll drink to that,” Rudy said, clinking a glass with Bruce. The raven-haired man opened his mouth to speak when a younger child went barreling past them, paused, and turned around to hug Bruce’s leg.

“Uh, you have a third we didn’t know about?” Oliver asked, and Bruce chuckled, recognizing those blue eyes anywhere.

“Hello, Tim,” Bruce said, and he could hear someone calling the boy. She was blond, Bruce had seen her out and about some with Jack.

“Tim, remember, we don’t hug, we shake hands,” She said when she caught up to him.

“Don’t worry,” Bruce said, hoisting the boy onto his lap. “We’re old friends, right sport?”

“And you are?” She asked, raising a brow.

“Bruce Wayne, I’m a colleague of Jack’s,” Bruce held out a hand to shake with her.

“Dana Winters, I’m Jack’s fiancé,” She said, and Tim leaned closer to Bruce. “I apologize, I didn’t recognize you.”

“Tim, Dick is over there if you wanted to go say hi,” Bruce said, pointing towards where he could still see his oldest son. The young boy nodded, mumbling a quiet thank you to Bruce before he wiggled his way down and scampered off, his father ruffling his hair as he passed.

“There you are, Darling,” Jack said, leaning in to kiss the woman’s cheek. “Hello, Bruce.”

“Jack,” Bruce nodded at him, noting the flush on his face and the nearly empty glass in his hand. “I was just speaking with your fiancé here. Congratulations.”

“Thank you, Bruce,” Jack flashed him a smile. “Dear, I think someone is waving at you.”

“That’s my wife, Dinah,” Oliver supplied. “Go ahead and say hello, I’m sure she’d love to meet you.”

Dana hurried off, leaving the four men in the hallway.

“Tim’s taller than the last time I saw him,” Bruce said, and Jack nodded, finishing off his drink.

“He’s growing, alright,” Jack said. “Looking more and more like his mother every day.”

Bruce scowled, watching Dana and Dinah exchange pleasantries as they kept an eye on the group of children. There were precious few mother figures for those boys, it was good to know that Tim had someone now.

Though as far as a father figure, Bruce wasn’t sure Jack had it all figured out yet.


End file.
